The Halfling
by LaRomanceWriter
Summary: They were coming home when she was taken. 2 months later, Danny Fenton has acquired his ghost powers. 2 years later, she comes back. And by then, everything has changed. He's the savior of the world, and she's only a broken soul, found again. Can they ever be together again? Is their friendship at an end? And what about the ghosts, who have all begun to disappear?
1. 1-I Have Been Found

It began after he became human again.

"Annie!" he cried, startled, when he came home from school one day.

The girl was thinner, paler, her hair had turned from caramel brown to almost a snow-white. But she ran to him and hugged him just the same.

"Danny!" her voice was weak, sore from crying.

Everyone in the was crying. His parents, his sister Jazz and Annie's mom, Mrs. Gust. The only ones who kept it together were the police, who stood there silently, slightly uncomfortable.

He wanted to kiss her so, so badly. But not in front of anyone. Instead he hugged her back, and smelled her.

She didn't smell the same. Annie smelt like smoke and ash, not like her flowery shampoo.

 _Of course not dummy_ , Danny scolded himself, _she's been missing for over two years now._

Annie's legs collapsed beneath her, and Danny found himself holding her up.

"Sorry," she gasped, "still weak from exhaustion. Just… put me on the couch or something."

He helped her down, and the police walked to her.

"You sure you don't need an ambulance ma'am?" he asked.

"Mother's a doc. Sure she can handle it," Annie replied.

"Code for we'll stop by the hospital later," Mrs. Gust said, smiling, "she hasn't passed out yet, so that's a good thing."

The officer nodded, and motioned to his partner.

"We'll see you at the station then," the partner said, "we've asked enough questions for now." He smiled down at Annie, "welcome home."

Annie beamed up at him. As soon as they left though, she closed her eyes and sighed,

"Damn, staying awake for them took a lot outta me."

"Are you okay? Danny asked."

"Just tired," she mumbled.

Mrs. Gust picked up her daughter gently. "Time for the hospital dear."

Annie weakly punched her, "Moooooom, I wanted to talk to Danny…"

"Thanks Maddie for calling," she Mrs. Gust said to his mom, "I best head back to work now with Annie. She needs more fluids and food, something I don't have at home."

"When will she be back to normal?" Jazz asked.

"Give it two months, maybe. She's just trekked halfway through the country to get home, and the police will have lots and lots of questions," she shrugged and headed for the door, "I'll see you guys."

Danny watched intently as they left, watching Annie's exhausted face disappear through the doorway.

He smiled the first time in over a week. His best friend was back!

Tucker was excited too. For some reason they didn't tell Sam about it. Later Danny thought it was because she didn't know Annie, but he really wasn't sure…

"Hey Phantom-boy. Hey Good-Luck Tuck," Annie greeted them both as they walked into the hospital room three days later.

Tucker tried hugging her, but it looked extremely awkward, especially since Annie couldn't sit up.

"You getting better?" He asked her.

She smiled weakly, "yeah. They've put a bunch of sleepy drugs in this stupid IV. But I'm not that weak!"

"Better than Danny's zebra hair," Tucker pointed at his friend and made a horse noise. Danny shoved him, and Annie laughed.

"Why did you dye your hair like that?" she asked Danny.

Both friends went silent. What should they tell her? She hadn't been around for the past year to understand Danny's ghostly side, and their adventures. Maybe she didn't know about ghosts at all.

"I wanted a little change is all," Danny shrugged his shoulders, "Why is your hair so pale now?"

This time Annie went silent, a gaze covering her eyes.

"I'd rather not say," she replied. "So what's the news? Did either of you ever ask out Paulina, or what?"

Tucker grinned, "Well, there's this girl Danny's bee-"

"Tucker still can't get a date!" Danny interrupted.

Annie laughed. "C'mon Phantom-boy, it's alright if you've been dating while I've been gone! I won't consider it cheating, since you _did_ think I died."

Tucker glanced between them, shocked. "You guys are together!?"

Danny blushed like hell. "It's gotten complicated since… you know."

Annie sighed. "Whoever this girl is, she's lucky. If you guys got together, fine," she didn't sound bitter at all. In fact, she sounded happy, "just remember, I'll still be here."

Tucker whistled at Danny an hour later, "Damn Daniels, you got two fine ladies lined up just for you!"

"Did she just break up with me?" Danny wondered aloud.

Tucker slapped his arm, "No! I think she thinks that you and Sam are going out and said it was okay. So you've got yourself two chicks!"

"Why haven't we even mentioned to Sam about Annie?"

"Why didn't you let me say Sam's name?" Tucker shot back, "we're idiots, that's why!" He put his arm around Danny, "Look dude, I'm serious about you and Sam. You should seriously ask her out. And don't give me the 'betraying Annie' thing again. Now that I KNOW FOR SURE you guys went out AND she said it was okay, you really have to ask her out."

"Fine," Danny said, "I'll do it when I save the world from total annihilation as my alto ego."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "I'm so kicking your ass at Slit-throat if you don't."


	2. 2-In Temptation's Arms

**Hello, and welcome back! I've decided to start posting my thoughts on this. This chapter is called The Day Before the World is Supposed to End, if you must know, but it's too long for this site. Whoops!**

 **Some mature things this time. I'm certain they don't violate the rules, since I don't go into detail into... you'll see soon enough.**

 **I don't own Danny Phantom. Just my characters and this story. Enjoy!**

It was happening so fast. Danny had his powers back, yes, and the world agreed on his plan, but… he wasn't even sure if it would work.

No one knew he was in the hospital. It was mostly empty, this part, as many had chosen suicide instead. He ducked into Annie's bathroom and became human, and quietly opened the door to her room. His ghost sense went off as he entered, and he brushed it off as another dead patient going to the ghost zone.

She was asleep, the TV on. He saw himself describing the plan, and the newscasters babbling on what would happen if it _did_ work. Danny flicked it off and glanced at his friend.

Annie looked better. She had gained weight, and the only thing hooked to her now was the IV.

She stirred, opening her eyes and Danny turned invisible.

"Who's there?" she called. When he didn't reply, she merely sighed again.

"I seem to do that a lot these days," Annie said aloud to no one, "sighing. Damn I wish I came home sooner, but our great escape…" she sighed again, and flicked on the TV, then muted it, "I wonder …" she muttered to herself, "no ghost has ever become so open about _being_ a ghost. Why does this one care for humans?"

"Because I'm not just a ghost," Danny broke his silence, becoming visible, "a lot of the ghosts call me a Halfa. Half-human, half-ghost," he explained to her astonished face.

"Danny!" she breathed, startled.

He blushed, sticking his hands into his pockets.

"Hey Annie," he said, "Sorry we haven't visited you."

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him.

"Who else knew?" she whispered.

"My sister and Tucker," he replied, knowing exactly what she was talking about. He looked down in shame, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I lost my powers, I just got them back yesterday and-"

He was interrupted as she suddenly grabbed him and hugged him.

"Just shut up Phantom-boy," her voice was choked up, "It's okay that you didn't trust me, I have been gone."

He pulled away and looked at her.

"It's not your fault Annie," he said, "Neither of us knew what would happen."

"Do you regret that day?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "No. I only regret not being able to save you."

She kissed him. Good god, it was just like he remembered, and so many emotions bubbled up inside him and-

"Sorry," she whispered, pulling away, "I wanted to do that before…" her voice trailed off.

His heart was torn. Danny felt like he was betraying Sam, even though they're not even together. He wanted to keep going _so_ badly.

So he kissed her back.

There was nobody in the hospital after all. He climbed on top of her and began to grind his body on Annie, and she moaned, clutching his neck and kissing him.

They became a tangle of sheets and flesh, and soon it got… steamy.

Danny was breathing hard. They did it again.

"Annie," he groaned as she began to let her hands touch him in places, everywhere.

They couldn't stop themselves. The world as they knew it might end tomorrow, and if it did then at least they had this moment together. Another experience between two lovers, and it was the best thing either had ever experienced. They were addicted to each other, like an alcoholic and his bottle, like the addict with his needle, the smoker and his weed.

Somehow her IV staying in her skin, which was a good thing. They lay side by side, panting.

Her head rested on his chest, she looked up at him, "Danny, if the world doesn't end, can we just get to know each other all over again?"

Danny wrapped his arms tighter around Annie, "Are you sure? I mean..." he didn't know what to say.

Annie smiled. "Tucker came and told me the other day about you and Sam, you don't have to hide her from me. I know you aren't together, but Danny, if you like her, then fucking go for it! Kiss her at least, the world's about to end. I don't care. Tell her that you're half-ghost, for fuck's sake, you told me!"

Oh, she was using the F-word. He knew she was serious. The F-word was something else altogether. He realized she was right, since he never mentioned that Sam knew his secret.

Danny found himself gently sitting up, looking down at his lover.

"Alright," he cringed every which way, but he forced himself to continue on, "I'll kiss her, and if my plan works then I'll ask her out."

Annie kissed his cheek and hugged him, "Just remember that I don't mind if this love is our last time, just remember not to feel like shit about it. We're done for now."

 _Now_ he knew for sure this was a break-up, kinda. Someday again they may get back together, but for now...

"I'll see you," Danny began to get dressed and kissed Annie, "I hope that this isn't the last time..."

Annie just smiled back at him.


	3. 3-The Danger is Past

**I do not own Danny Phantom. I just own my character Annie and this story. Enjoy.**

It worked it worked IT REALLY WORKED! Danny was pumped, and he was excited. He looked up at all the ghosts in the world, a goofy grin on his face. He didn't even care when Skulker grabbed him and told him squarely in the eye to never get used to this.

"You have much more value in prize!" Skulker exclaimed to him, and, with the rest of the ghosts, flew back into the ghost zone.

From behind him, he heard his mother asked, "Danny, don't you have something to tell us?"

He looked at her; surprised by the gentleness she would only show his human side.

Jazz looked at him, 'It's okay Danny, they know."

He looked around the crowd and he willed himself to change back. Those ghostly white rings surrounded him, and a warm sensation passed as he became human. The crowd cheered.

.

Annie watched this unfold on live TV. It almost made his revelation to her pointless. But then again, he did just save the world, and, thanks to Jazz, his secret was spilled anyways (as TV producers also caught her saying this on camera).

But it was okay. They were just friends now. She was happy for him, and there was no bitterness in her heart. Annie was excited to see him again, and maybe this time she could meet Sam. Sam-I-am, she wondered if Sam would be okay with such a childish nickname.

The door opened. Her mother came in, smiling. The doctor followed suit, and Annie's mother began to take off the IV.

"Time for home?" Annie asked.

"Just one more exam dear," her mother replied, and ruffled her hair, "we have all the time in the world now together!"

Annie glanced at the TV, where Danny and Sam kissed onscreen before boarding the Fenton plane home. A small pang of jealousy pinched Annie's chest, but she threw it away. Just friends, only friends, for now.

Her mother switched the TV off. Annie looked at her.

But her mom said nothing, continuing her nurse's work.

.

The adrenaline wore off. Danny sat down next to his friends, closing his eyes as he crashed back down. Tucker slapped his arm.

"We did it!"

Danny was exhausted, so he merely smiled, his eyes still closed. Changing the Earth to become intangible took a lot more out of him than he first thought. It was coming to him in waves, sleep beginning to cloud his mind.

"Yeah," he murmured, tiredness creeping upon him.

He felt Sam kiss his cheek, and he opened them a fraction of an inch to look at her. Too tired to say anything, he just squeezed her hand and closed his eyes again.

"Are you okay son?" his father asked.

But Danny was already asleep.

 **Don't worry, Danny's fine. He is just asleep. Just re-watched that last scene to make sure I got it right, but nope! So here's a little new update for you. :)  
**

 **Barley fit that title in there! It looks weird, so I'll just fix the other chapters to only be numbered. You guys know what I mean.**

 **A two-for-one today, I was feeling generous. Thanks for the great reviews, please, tell me on how you feel about these last two chapters! I'll try keeping to post at least once a week until the story is finished. And quite frankly, I myself may not know the end ;)**


	4. 4-Listen to Me

For the three of them, school was out. Sam, Tucker, and Danny were making speeches and attending parties all over the world for the next few days. The statues of his alter-ego was put up throughout the world, and finally, they were back at Amity Park.

"I can't believe you didn't want to attend your own ceremony," Sam told him on the top of the hill.

"Well you know me. I kind of like to stick around on the sidelines sometimes," he replied to her.

"And your folks are cool with knowing your secret identity?" she asked.

"Yeah, the time for secrets is over," he said. Briefly, he remembered that he should probably introduce Annie and Sam. Probably soon, as he just got a text from her mom hours after the meteor almost destroyed everything that she was out of the hospital.

"The world is safe, time for new beginnings," he continued, "My dad even says he wants me to team up with me now, says I could be _his_ sidekick."

"You're a big star now. Probably the biggest in the world," Sam noted.

"Yeah. Weird huh?"

"You'll probably get pretty busy."

"What else is new?"

And...I probably won't see much of you anymore," she looked down, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, I wouldn't count on that," Danny took out the ring Sam gave him the day the world was supposed to end.

"Sam, I could never have done any of this without you," he told her, putting the ring on her finger.

Tears welled up in Sam's eyes.

"And I don't care what's coming next! I just hope that...whatever it is, you're there to share it with me."

"I will be," she paused, and suddenly it just burst out, "I just have to warn you I'm no pushover! You know I still have my own way of doing things!"

" _That's_ what I'm counting on."

They kissed.

He pushed her away and stood up, becoming Danny Phantom.

"What do ya say, wanna go for a ride? See where the future takes us?"

"Why not?"

He picked her up and jumped into the air. His ghostly tail formed as they flew down and around the statue.

"Nice statue," Sam commented, noticing that they didn't get Danny's butt quite right, "Personally I would have made it out of recycled materials, but ya know, that's just me."

Danny chuckled. "I'd like you to meet someone."

Sam looked at him, confused, as Danny landed in front of a house across the street in front of his own.

His ghost sense went off.

"When we go inside, don't look left whatever you do," Danny told her.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked him.

"This house is haunted. The ghast here doesn't like people looking at him."

Did he just say _ghast?_ Sam just raised her eyebrows, but didn't question him further.

Danny rang the doorbell, and changed back.

The door opened.

The first thing Sam noticed was that she was thin. Not bone-thin, but still very skinny. Her green eyes were tired and had black circles under them, and her hair was even thinner and almost white. She looked like the wind could blow her away at any second, and that the act of standing was costing her dearly.

But those eyes lit up when they saw Danny. In fact, she appeared to get stronger at the sight of him. Sam noticed how Danny smiled at her, as if they were long-time friends.

"Annie, I'd like for you to meet Sam Manson, my girlfriend. Sam, this is Annie Gust, one of my oldest friends.

She held out her hand to Sam, and Sam took it. Her handshake was strong, despite her fragile appearance.

"Hello," Annie said to Sam, "it's so nice to finally meet you!"

"You too," Sam replied, looking at Danny.

"Come in, come in," Annie ushered, still smiling. Sam noticed that she covered the left side of her face. Seeing as Danny was doing the same, she copied them.

"Why are we doing this?" Sam asked.

"You'd rather not know," Annie replied, "just don't look left, whatever you do. He's watching."

Sam felt a chill go down her spine, and felt eyes watching from behind. She was tempted to look left, but didn't.

Annie led them to the living room, and gestured for them to sit down. Whatever it was was behind them know, so they took their hands off their faces.

"Do you guys need anything?" Annie asked.

They both said no, so Annie collapsed down on the couch. Sam noticed that her house and Danny's were similar, the layout at least. Otherwise, it looked rather normal.

They both sat across from her. The TV was muted, but both could see Tucker still giving his speech.

"So… how do you guys know each other?" Sam asked them both.

She noticed they both blushed. It was Annie who spoke first.

"Our moms knew each other. Then they had us. The end," Annie said.

"Then why have I never heard of you before?"

Annie stood up and made her way to a bookshelf that sat in a lonely corner of the room.

Sam wasn't dumb, but she could see how sickly Annie looked. Like a starved kid from Africa, or one of those badly treated slaves in the 1800s.

She picked up what looked like a family album, and then walked back. She handed it to Sam, saying, "Here's the answer to all your questions."

Danny was visibly uncomfortable. He had said nothing until now.

"So when are you coming back to school?" he asked her as Sam put the book beside her to look at later.

"In a couple of weeks, when I can walk and gain a few more pounds," she replied, sitting down again, "how's the life of our savior?"

"No paparazzi chasing me down yet, so it's all good," he took Sam's hand and looked at her, "How about you Sam?"

"Ditto," she said.

Sam reached for the remote on the coffee table that was between them, and un-muted the TV, just to see what Tucker was doing.

"We need to work together to bring back Youtube to public schools," he was saying, "Youtube is a nes-"

"How did it become a ceremony about me to discussing why Youtube is so good for us?" Danny voice had an edge to laughter in it.

Sam was about to answer when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around, completely forgetting to not look at whoever _he_ was, thinking that she was about to meet Annie's parents, but what she saw startled her.

A man, covered in blood, holding a gun. His mouth was sewn shut. Ghostly bugs were crawling everywhere on him, his worn clothes looking like it was torn with bullet holes.

And he was just staring. What made it more creepy was the fact the he didn't even have eyes. They looked like they had been poked out, there was bloodstains in his eye sockets. Sam swore she could see bits and pieces of this man's brain.

"Danny…"

The man raised the gun and pointed it between her eyes. He opened his mouth, the stitches snapping with an audible _pop_ and a silent scream went out as he pulled the trigger.

 **This was the hardest chapter to write so far. It took me a while to figure out how I should have Danny introduce Sam and Annie, and I decided that it would fit most that Danny would do it during his own ceremony, right after that last scene in Phantom Planet.**

 **Oh yeah, almost forgot! The other day I read that Sam and Danny knew each other since 2nd grade(was looking at the wiki)! WTF! Anyways, for the purpose of this fanfiction, Danny and Sam have only known each other for 2 years, and met one month after Annie disappeared.**

 **I'll put more details in the next chapter or so, when Sam gets a chance to look in the book Annie gave her.**

 **Please, tell me what you think! Thank you guys for the reviews!**


	5. 5-You Shudder To Look

Sam screamed, and the man vanished.

Annie merely blinked, "didn't you tell her not to look over there whatever you do?"

"I did," Danny replied, turning to Sam, "Are you okay?"

Sam gulped, but nodded, "what, or who was that?"

"Lunatic Luke, our local ghast," Annie replied, "moved on a couple of years ago, and we're still waiting for his ghast to fade. He appears every couple of weeks and disappears after a day or so. But if you look at him..." she shrugged, "scary, no?"

Sam, still shaking, said, "don't you mean ghost?"

"No," Annie replied, "I mean ghast," she looked at Danny, "have you guys even seen a ghast since I've been gone?"

"Nope." Danny answered.

"Can you just tell me what a ghast is?!" Sam demanded.

"Sure," Annie said, taking out her phone and reading aloud the definition from The Spooks Beasiarty, "Ghosts are full spirits still trapped on earth and unable to pass on, either because they are victims or have committed some heinous crime. Some may be bound to the scene of their crime; some to their own grave. Occasionally they have a message for those still alive and may linger for years, waiting for the opportunity to pass this on," Annie looked up at them before continuing, "A ghast is a fragment of a spirit who has moved on, but their evil part is left behind to repeat their last deed until it eventually fades away into nothing."

Danny slow clapped, "glad you remembered."

Annie stuck out her tongue at him, "as if you could explain better!"

Danny shrugged, "True."

On the TV, Skulker appeared and began attacking onlookers.

Danny sighed, "well, I should probably take care of that," he jumped up into the air and became a ghost, holding his hand out his hand to Sam, "Ready for the ride?"

Sam looked at the book Annie gave her, then looked at Annie, "Nah, I have to go home and finish some homework."

Danny scoffed, but said, "your choice," he kissed her quickly on the lips and said to both girls, "see you guys later!"

"Bye," Sam and Annie said at the same time.

Sam stood up and stuck out her hand to Annie, "it was nice meeting you."

Sam could see Annie struggle to stand for a second before she, too, got up and shook Sam's hand, "It was nice meeting you! When your curiosity is satisfied, I'd like my book back."

"Okay," Sam said, "I guess I'll see you around."

"Bye," Annie called as Sam left.

Sam looked down at the book.

Now let's see what I can find, she thought to herself, heading home.

 **.**

 **A long time ago I read this book called The Last Apprentice: The Spook's Bestiary: The Guide to Creatures of the Dark by Joseph Delaney. You should go read it(after you read my story, that is ;)). It was really good, and it gave me the idea of ghasts in this version of the Danny Phantom Universe. I wanted to introduce the idea early in the story, as I will eventually incorporate it into the rest of my story ;)**

 **Please, leave a review! More reviews = faster time for next chapter, so please! I love hearing feedback from you guys!**

 **UPDATE: When I originally posted this, it came out funky-looking (to me) so here's the final, way-the-hell better version.**

 **FINALLY! ;u; You guys have no idea... the pain!**


	6. 6-Thinking Me Dead

When Sam got home later that day, she quickly ran into her room and shut the door. Making herself comfortable, she settled down and opened the first page of the book.

MISSING

IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL THE POLICE RIGHT AWAY

Underneath was a photo of what Sam thought was Annie, but she didn't look like the girl she just met. The girl in the picture was rounder, had a tan, and her hair was a dark brown. The only thing that would have suggested this girl was Annie was those green eyes.

Sam's eyes widened. She was a missing girl!? Did Annie run away?

Instead of continuing on, Sam took out her phone and searched up _Annie Gust_.

News headline after news headline popped up, showing dozens of photos of Annie, Tucker and... Danny.

KIDNAPPED

TAKEN

ABDUCTED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT

SNATCHED OFF THE STREETS

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL?

Sam began clicking and reading each article, making note that each one of these dates happened almost a whole month before Sam moved into Amity Park.

What did they all have in common? Two teenagers, Danny Fenton and Annie Gust were walking back home from the library when a truck pulled in. According to the only witness, Danny, they were both held at gunpoint and instructed to get into the van. They were promptly tied up. Danny, being unwanted, was beat up and tossed out, found by police a day later in an abandoned alleyway.

Whatever happened to Annie Gust? No one knew. No evidence of the car was ever found, nor any accounts of the two men, as they wore masks. Annie Gust was presumed dead after three months with no leads (around the time when all the ghosts began showing up, Sam realized), and it went cold.

There was only a one follow-up story Sam could find. She guessed that no one was really interested, with the world almost ending.

AFTER 2 YEARS, MISSING GIRL RETURNS

It didn't go into too much detail. Just a picture of the Annie Sam had met in the hospital bed, a nurse tending to her. The caption read, "Safe and sound. It's too bad the world's about to end."

Sam looked back at the book Annie gave her, and began flipping through it.

Frantic writings throughout the pages, news clippings of articles and pages upon pages of pictures of Sam's two best friends with Annie, from various ages, the earliest of them as babies to as recent as two years ago.

Then, across all of the pages, were same words written over and over again:

WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?

And on the last page, there was a picture of Danny. Not Danny as a human, but Danny Phantom. Underneath it was the caption: _Where were you when she needed you?_

And underneath that, in Danny's handwriting, was this:

 _I'm sorry._

Sam threw down the book and sobbed.

.

 **Sorry I haven't been posting as I have. Last chapter came out looking funcky, so I tried editing it to look like the rest.**

 **And then it got worse. And worse. And so bad that I changed all the chapter titles in an attempt to fix, and I finally did! I haven't had time to change them back, but I think I like them this way. They're taken from the lines of the song "Annie Would I Lie to You" By Iris and Edgar Allen Poe's "For Annie" (Both of which inspired this story). You guys let me know- Change the chapter names back, or keep them like this?**

 **Don't forget to leave a review! As always, more reviews = new chapters at a faster rate!**

 **I do not own Danny Phantom, the song "Annie Would I Lie to You" or the poem "For Annie" Have an amazing weekend everyone!**


	7. 7-The Many Stars in the Sky

Danny had become exhausted from his battle with Skulker. He was floating in the sky, watching the stars appear slowly as the sun set.

Clouds had begun to appear, which suited him just fine. It hid him from any onlookers who dared look up without him being forced to become invisible.

Danny spread out his arms, letting the wind flow through them. He sighed, content with himself, floating, forgetting the world...

"Huh?" Danny's ghost sense went off.

He bumped into another, who cried out in surprise at the same time. Danny quickly turned around, ready for a fight.

The ghost was one who he'd never met. She wore a simple white dress and she had tanned skin, dark flowing hair and bright blue eyes, and a nice hour-glass shaped figure.

"Hello," the ghost girl said shyly, holding out her hand to him, "My name is Anonymous, the ghost of secrets."

"Danny Phantom," He replied, shaking her hand, "But you probably already knew that."

She gave him a shy smile, "Yeah, I did. So what do you need Phantom-boy?"

Danny gave her a confused look.

"No one runs into me unless they have something to confess," she told him, "Otherwise, I am," she looked down and put her hands behind her back, moving back and forth nervously, blushing, "Anonymous."

"Confess? No, I don't think so," Danny said. She was cute, he thought, and she seemed so shy for a ghost, especially for a ghost of secrets. But he couldn't doubt that he was attracted to her quiet beauty.

She just smiled then, "Okay. But I'm here if you need anything. If you need me, all you need to do to find me is to just fly into the clouds around this time. I won't tell another soul about your confessions."

"You seem rather nervous about all this. You're not lying so you can give the press a big scoop, are you?"

She shook her head, "No, of course not. I have my duties as a secret-keeper, as you have yours as one who keeps justice."

For some reason, Danny believed her. He was at ease with this ghost, as if he'd known her his whole life. Perhaps it was her ghost-magic, or if it was because she was a secret-keeper, and around those types of people (or spirits in this case) you could just trust them with anything.

He smiled back at her, "Okay Anonymous."

She sat down on the cloud and patted the one next to her, "Do you want to watch the stars with me? Tonight a meteor shower is supposed to appear."

Danny sat down and said, "Oh why not? I've got nothing else to do."

.

Later Danny flew home after watching the meteors fall. He was drowsy, and content. He and Anonymous didn't talk, not at all, but just watched the stars. After, he told her he had to go. She just gave him a soft smile and said, "Okay."

 _I'll have to talk to Tucker about adding her to our list of ghosts_ , he thought to himself, _she may be-_

His thoughts were interrupted by his sister, who was in his room and cried as soon as he got in, "Danny Fenton, just where in the world were you?!"

"With a ghost!" He answered quickly, and began to quickly fill in the details to her not-so-amused face, "I-met-this-new-ghost-named-Anonymous-and-she-invited-me-to-watch-the-meteor-shower-with-her-and-I-lost-track-of-time-and-don't-kill-me-or-tell-our-parents-please!"

Jazz sighed, "They went to bed a while ago. Dad had another case of food poisoning, so they didn't notice. Come on, let's go enter her into the database and I'll ask Tucker tomorrow if he knows anything about this Anonymous. You know that means 'unknown person', right?"

"No," he replied, landing on the floor. Danny became human and let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Jazz."

"The next time you scare me like that we're hunting your ass down," she grumbled, leaving the room.

"Yeah right," Danny snorted, following her.

.

 **LOLOLOLOLOL New ghost! Who is she? What's her purpose? You'll have to wait and see! :D**

 **Told you guys, super fast reviews = super fast upload. Now I took my time, despite how fast I upload these chapters (I like to write at least two at a time, and when I'm satisfied with one, I upload it, check the next and write one more. If I'm pleased with the next, it's uploaded the same day as well!) Goodness, thanks for all those spell checkers! I think this is my best one yet!**

 **So I noticed how my own chapter titles seem to be making a sort of poem on its own. Look:**

 **I have been found,**

 **In temptations arms.**

 **The danger is past,**

 **Listen to me**

 **You shudder to look**

 **thinking me dead.**

 **The many stars in the sky**

 **.**

 **See what I mean? This unique poem, made by yours truly, will be COMPLETE by the time this story is done! And to be truthful, that was completely unintentional. I just noticed it right now.**

 **As always, leave a review. You saw how fast this one got uploaded ;)**

 **I don't own Danny Phantom, just this story.**

 **UPDATE 4/3/17- Even _MORE_ minor grammar issues.**


	8. 8-Glows With the Light

Many days later…

It was early, so early that only the janitors of Casper High were at school. Danny walked down the halls by himself, looking around for locker 724.

 _Locker_ 724\. The haunted locker of Pointdexter.

Danny had a tendency to visit this locker, just to check up on the old ghost. Pointdexter was kind, and sometimes Danny just talked to Pointdexter, just to see how he was doing. Danny didn't understand why he did; maybe it was because Pointdexter, like himself, was once constantly bullied.

Or maybe Danny was just looking for trouble.

Danny jimmied the lock with his ghost powers and opened the locker, not surprised that it was still empty. Nobody wanted this locker. He touched the mirror and said, "You there Pointdexter?"

His ghost sense went off, and Pointdexter appeared.

"Hello," Pointdexter said cheerfully, his image beginning to…flicker.

Lately Pointdexter had seemed more…faded. Danny wondered why, what was going on to Pointdexter?

"Are you all right?" Danny asked him.

Pointdexter's face contorted to confusion, "Yeah, better than alright. I have a lady friend now. Why?"

"A lady friend?!" Danny's eyes almost popped out of his head, "really?"

Pointdexter looked smug, "Yeah, she's very beautiful. I plan to take her to a moving picture this weekend."

Danny sometimes forgot Pointdexter died in the early 1900s. It took him a second to realize that Pointdexter meant a movie.

Danny held up his hand, and Pointdexter, after a moments hesitation, gave him a high-five.

"Good luck," Danny said, "Thanks for letting me know. I wouldn't want to ruin your date."

Pointdexter seemed to… glow. He cracked a smile that split his face, and he said happily, "No, thank you for giving me confidence!" And the ghost disappeared.

 _Yeah,_ Danny thought to himself, _after you forced me to trade places with you._ He shrugged to himself, _at least Pointdexter hasn't given me trouble since._ Danny began walking back to his own locker.

.

Danny stood by Sam's locker minutes later, waiting for her. He began to doze off, playing with his ice powers and trying to see if his own ghost sense could give him a brain freeze when someone lightly punched his arm and said, "Hey there Phantom-boy."

His eyes popped open, and Danny jumped up. "Annie?" He asked her, startled.

She wore a baseball cap that day, pulled low over her eyes, making her nearly unrecognizable. It looked slightly strange, as she also wore a skirt with it. But a good strange.

She smirked at him, saying, and "Yeah phantom-boy?"

"You just," he was at lost for words, "I thought you came back next week."

"Gained enough weight," she explained.

He opened his mouth, and closed it. She giggled and the bell rang.

"See you in class, phantom-boy."

"Yeah, ghost-girl," he replied automatically.

"Was that Annie?" Sam asked as she walked up behind him.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Huh, I didn't recognize her with the hat," Sam told him.

Danny took her hand, "No one ever does." Then he added, "Where the heck were you?!"

"Waiting by your locker."

"Oh."

.

Mr. Lancer was, naturally, teaching English again. He was doing roll call, and the whole class had noticed the kid who stood behind him, wearing the hat low over their eyes.

Mr. Lancer turned to the girl and gestured to her, "Class, I'm very happy to say that our Annie Gust has been-"

"ANNIE?!" the classroom erupted into chaos as many of the students got up and surrounded her, bombarding her with questions:

"Where were you?"

"Are you okay?"

"What happened to you?"

"Where did you go?"

" _Oh my God_ Annie _what happened to your hair_?"

"Annie, did they starve you? Is that why you're so thin now?"

Danny and Sam watched silently.

"I didn't know she was so popular," Sam said.

"Yeah, everyone likes her," Danny replied relieved that the attention was no longer on him. His ghost sense went off.

"Ahh man," he groaned, getting up. He held out his hand to Sam, "Do you want to come with me?"

"Hello again," a soft voice caressed Danny's ear. Danny turned to see Anonymous.

The class noticed this unwanted guest and screamed.

Anonymous waved a hand through the air and silenced them. She turned back to Danny, who had become a ghost.

"Whoa there, I just came to give you this," She cried, handing him an envelope.

"What is this?" he asked her, taking it.

"Open it and see."

Danny looked at the ghost suspiciously, but figured that if he didn't open it, no human in the room would be able to talk again. So he did.

" _ **You are invited as a VIP to**_ _ **The Dying Ember,"**_ It read cheerily, the words glowing with the lights, _**"Hosted by you local Halfling, Anonymous!"**_

"Halfing?" Danny asked, looking up. But Anonymous was gone.

"Where were you?"

"Are you okay?"

"What happened to you?"

"Where did you go?"

" _Oh my God_ Annie _what happened to your hair_?"

Danny was sitting down again, human. "What?!" he asked, looking around. The paper was still in his hand, the words glowing with magic.

"What's that Danny?" Sam asked him, taking the note.

"It's- you don't remember?" he asked hesitantly.

"Remember what?" she gave it back to him.

"Never mind. Do you think I should go?"

"Go where?"

Danny stared at her. He held up the paper and said, "Can't you see what's written on here?!"

"Danny, that's a blank sheet of paper," she said gently, then teased, "All that ghost fighting must be finally driving you loony!"

Danny looked down at the paper. He could clearly see the words there, and the picture of Ember McLain, singing her heart out. There were others he didn't recognize, another girl with red hair playing the guitar and two boys, one playing the drums and the other with an electric keyboard. Underneath all of that it said, _ **"This is the first concert of The Dying Ember! Be there or be square!"**_ And of course, the information to where it would be, please present you invitation at the door.

"So where are you going?" Sam asked him.

"Nowhere," he lied.

Danny had made up his mind right then and there.

And the words stared back at him, glowing softly with the light.

.

 **I like Pointdexter. He's a cute kid with a tragic a backstory. With the whole 'touching the mirror' thing, let's just assume Danny fixed it at one point. For all you super "Phan-atics" XD**

 **So is Ember coming up? Yes! You excited? I am! And Anonymous invited Danny to this, and we have no idea her intentions (DUN DUN DUN!)**

 **Sorry about not posting lately. I've been busy with school ): But like I said before, count on me posting at least once a week! (Normally on Thursdays/Fridays)**

 **See you on the flip side!**


	9. 9-With a Lullaby Sound (Pt 1)

Sam was walking to Annie's house to give her back the book. As she was walking, however, she saw Annie walk out, the hat she was wearing at school low over her eyes, making her nearly unrecognizable once again. She was wearing jeans as well, and with her thinness, she almost looked like a boy.

Sam ducked behind an ally and watched Annie as she looked around and began walking in the opposite direction Sam came in.

Sam remembered what Danny had asked a few days ago, _"_ _Do you think I should go?"_

" _Go where?"_

 _Danny has stared at her as if she were insane. He held up the paper he was holding and said, "Can't you see what's written on here?!"_

" _Danny, that's a blank sheet of paper," she had told him, then teased, "All of that ghost fighting must be finally driving you loony!"_

At the time Sam brushed it off. But seeing Annie looking around like that, as if she were worried about being followed, aroused Sam's suspicions. So, with the book still tucked in her backpack, Sam followed the girl.

.

Danny was soaring, flying. The wind was like a soft feathery bed, making him relax. But he had a mission.

No one else could see what was on that paper. He had asked Tucker after popping in on him after a "very important mayor meeting".

.

"Ahh!" Tucker had screamed in surprise, and Danny had laughed, still hovering over the ground.

"Can you read this?" Danny had asked him, holding out the piece of paper he got from Anonymous.

Tucker took the paper.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Tucker asked Danny, "This paper doesn't have anything on it."

"No," Danny said, "the ghost Anonymous gave it to me. She told me I had to go."

Tucker gave Danny the paper back," Go where?"

"To the concert, _The Dying Ember,_ " He explained.

Tucker had looked at him has if he were going crazy, "Dude, are you sure you're alright?"

Danny had to keep himself from groaning aloud. So he forced a grin and replied sarcastically, "Tucker, you're the one insane! It's just a blank piece of paper!"

Tucker laughed and playfully punched his arm, "I knew it!"

On Tucker's waist, his PDA beeped. He took it out and looked at Danny, "Sorry Danny, I have to go. There's another meeting."

Danny sighed, "Yeah, okay Tucker." Then they parted ways.

.

It was a similar experience when he had asked Annie at lunch. Instead of saying anything, Danny just handed the paper to her.

She looked at it, a look of confusion and amusement on her face. "What's this?"

"Can you see anything on there?" Danny asked her instead.

"Am I supposed to see anything?" Annie countered, giving him back the invitation.

Danny sighed and tucked it back into his pocket, finally giving up, "I don't know."

Annie touched his arm, "Hey, are you okay?"

Danny forced a smile, "Yeah."

The crowd around them _ooed_ and _ahhed_ , and by the end of the day everyone thought that Danny was cheating on Sam _even though Annie just touched his arm!_

Danny felt so alone.

.

The stars in the sky glowed up at him. It was entirely possible that Danny was the only one who could see the invitation. He was, after all, half ghost. There were some things only he could see. For a while only Danny could see Youngblood. Maybe the concept was the same, except instead of only kids seeing Youngblood, only ghosts could see what was on this invitation.

Danny turned over to look at the ground, taking out the invitation again. He was almost at the stadium where the concert would take place when he heard her call out,

"It is September 19th, 1983."

Danny turned to Anonymous.

.

Meanwhile, Sam continued to follow Annie. The girl just kept looking left and right, and Sam had to keep ducking behind nearly every parked car and dumpster to avoid being spotted.

Annie sharply turned a corner. After waiting a second, Sam trailed behind.

"Where is she?" Sam muttered to herself, looking for Annie.

"Right here," Annie answered, and Sam felt the point of a knife nicking her back, "Why are you stalking me?"

;

"1983?" Danny asked the ghost.

Anonymous nodded at him, and pointed downwards. Suddenly, the streets were filled with traffic, old cars filling the streets. Mustangs, Volkswagens, Chevy Camaros, Ford Pintos, Lamborghinis, and nearly everything with a vinyl roof appeared. People walked the streets in bright neon clothing, with leg warmers and polka-dotted shirts.

"I call attention to that vehicle," Anonymous said, pointing to an orange Firebird that was zipping through traffic, "Amber McLain was her name, and she was running late for her concert. It was her first concert, to be precise. The band was called _The Dying Ember_ and she was the lead singer and guitarist. The band was nothing without her."

Danny's ghost sense went off again. He looked around, but saw no one.

Suddenly Anonymous flew down to the speeding orange Firebird. Anonymous put her hands and Danny watched as she made it intangible. And he understood the next second.

The Firebird was about to cross an intersection. The light was green for Amber's car, but another speedy driver would've crashed head-on if not for Anonymous.

Flying back up to Danny and acting as if nothing happened, she said, "Come on. We have a concert to catch."

.

"Easy," Sam told Annie, holding up her hands, "I just wanted to know where you were going."

The knife's edge eased up a bit. "Why didn't you just call me then?"

"I don't know your number," was Sam's quickest lie. Of course, Sam could've just texted Danny and asked him for it.

There was a swift _snap_ as Annie put away her knife. Sam turned around and looked at her as Annie pocketed her blade.

"You'd be very hard-pressed to tail me Sam-I-Am," Annie explained, "I was on the run from those kidnappers for three months. You learn to get good at losing people or jumping them."

Sam winced at the weird nickname, "Can you just call me Sam?"

"Don't like nicknames?" Annie asked her.

"No," Sam responded, "I hate them. I don't even let Danny call me 'babe' or 'sweetie'. It's just," Sam made a gagging sound.

Annie blew a raspberry at her, then turned and began walking.

"Where are you going?" Sam questioned.

"I'm just walking Sammy," Annie answered.

Sam swore to herself.

"And when I walk, I think. It helps calm my mind," Annie continued.

Sam followed behind her. "Mind if I walk with you?"

"Alright Sammy."

"Quit calling me Sammy!"

.

"This was the day Amber McCain died in a car accident. She survived the initial crash, but could not get out in time as her car burst into flames," Anonymous told him as they flew to the back doors of the stadium. Danny changed back into his human form as Anonymous landed on the floor.

There was a bouncer there, who seemed unfazed that a ghost and a half ghost just appeared in front of him. Anonymous and Danny both pulled out cards without a word, and both were let in.

Inside was a flurry of activity. People were moving instruments, testing microphones, having costume changes.

"Anon, Anon, you made it," a young man stopped mid-stride, approached her and kissed both Anonymous' cheeks, "And is this Daniel Forester, famous European queer radio show host?"

"Queer?!" Danny exclaimed.

"Ah, yes," Anonymous answered, then turned to Danny, "Danny, this is John. He's the band's manager. John, this is Daniel Forester, Europe's finest and queerest show host here today to help broadcast this live all over the world. But everyone calls him Danny."

"Queer!" Danny was again cried.

John kissed both of Danny's cheeks in greeting, but Danny didn't notice. He was stunned to be called freaking _gay!_

"Come, come, our fire is burning and the band await for our arrival!" John motioned for them to follow him, then glanced at his watch, "Where is Amber?" he muttered to himself.

"You told him I was gay!" Danny whispered to Anonymous through gritted teeth.

"Queer meant 'odd' in the 80s," Anonymous whispered back, "besides, we all know gay Europeans are dang _fine_!"

Danny could not argue with that.

John weaved around the several technicians and led them to the stage. There was a girl with red hair fiddling with her guitar and two boys who were talking to each other, one tuning his electric keyboard and the other playing with his drumsticks.

Danny recognized them from his invitation as John began to introduce the band members to him, "Mr. F, our girl here is Scarlet-"

"Hello," Scarlet giggled and blushed.

"Our drummer here is Blaze-"

"Nice to meet you, Mr. F," Blaze waved at him.

"And our keyboard expert, Inferno," John finished.

"Yello," Inferno beamed.

John added as an afterthought, "Not their real names, of course, stage names. Beautiful though, isn't it? Like the fire they are."

"Oh _Fuego_ , you're too kind!" Scarlet told him, her cheeks becoming ever redder.

Again, his ghost sense went off.

"Sorry I'm late!" Ember McLain burst onto the stage, sweat dripping from her forehead from running, "Traffic was like, majorly bad! And this dweeb almost ran into my car, it nearly killed me, I swear!"

"Ember, our star, you made it!" John ran to her and kissed both her cheeks.

The rest of the band went up to her and hugged Ember tightly.

"Guys, what are you doing?" Ember asked, confused.

They broke the group hug.

"We were just worried," Scarlet answered, "You ready to rock?"

"Totally," Ember replied.

Danny was almost stunned at Ember's appearance. She looked, well _alive._ She was still pale white and wore her black swirly makeup, sure, but there was color on her cheeks, and her hair wasn't flared up like her ghost form. It was down and looked…human.

A man ran over to John and whispered in his ear. John clapped and cheered, "The show begins in five everyone! Last minute prep, use the potty if you need it, prepare yourselves!"

"We're not a bunch of babies, dipstick," Blaze grumbled.

"Come Anon, Mr. F, backstage! We have your equipment all prepared for you both!" John pushed them both away and took them into a room filled with radio equipment and the like.

"Now don't go doing the nasty instead, ya hear?" John said, and walked out, leaving them alone.

Danny didn't wait a second after the door closed, "Are we really in the 80s, and did you just save Ember's life?!"

"No and no," Anonymous replied calmly, "We are in repeat. Ghosts relive their time of death once every 3 to 10 years," she waved her hands, and the stadium suddenly became rotted and dusty. She motioned him to follow as she walked through the wall, "Let's go Danny. You have to help me make Ember go on."

.

 **Sorry I haven't posted! This chapter is in 2 parts because I'm using it for a creative writing assignment! It's not completely done yet, but I wanted to keep up with my once-a-week quota, and I didn't want to make it too long, so I split it into a two(maybe three) part-er. I'll tell you if I got an A on this or not ;)**

 **Hope you liked it! I may tell you the prompt my teacher gave me next time! Happy Super Bowl Weekend!**


	10. 9-With a Lullaby Sound (Pt 2)

The Stadium. It had been mostly abandoned for a while now, as Amity Park built a brand new one not too long ago.

Sam wondered why Annie would walk here as the girl slipped past the fence, ducking under the **DANGER ZONE** sign.

"Are you coming?" Annie asked Sam, "Or are you chicken?"

"No," Sam retorted defensively, slipping past the fence, "I just don't like to put myself in danger needlessly."

"Says the girl who fights with the world's most famous half-ghost."

"Touché."

Dust and cobwebs clung everywhere like a kid to his candy. Sam found herself coughing as they made their way past of concession stands and trash cans no one dared take out.

But… it looked like someone else had been here recently. There were footprints and leading out to the main stadium.

"Annie, you come here often?" Sam wanted to know if these footprints were hers.

"No," Annie replied, "Not in years. Look, notice how there's no footprints leading out?" She turned to Sam, the faint light giving her a skeleton-like appearance, "Let's see who's been here!"

Before Sam could say that was the worst idea ever, Annie took off, following the footsteps.

"Wait!" Sam called out. She had to do her best to not run into anything and to keep up. Annie was amazingly fast, even for Sam, the fastest girl in their grade.

"Shush," Annie halted and Sam ran into her, "Look, there's someone here. It looks like a show's about to begin."

Sam squinted over Annie's shoulders. She could see an old, withered man sitting all by himself, waiting patiently for… something.

Annie motioned for Sam to follow, and together they took the very back seats.

.

"What you saw earlier is what Ember saw," Anonymous explained as they walked back to the stage, "I stopped her from reliving her death, and now she's reliving what _would_ have happened if she didn't die."

Danny could see several footprints, recent footprints. The man who was John was now a man in his 70s, looking out to the curtain,

"Curtain call!" his old voice sang, "We start now!"

Anonymous flew up and pulled the rope. The curtains parted.

Danny looked out onto the stage. Ember, her ghost, was there, grinning happily at the rest of her band. Yes, they were there. Scarlet was an old woman in her late 50s, probably. Blaze was in a wheelchair behind the drums, his hands shaking with arthritis. Inferno seemed to be the youngest of them, with the least wrinkles and the tallest stance, his blue eyes shining with anticipation. They had their instruments prepared, and they smiled at their dead friend, who had never aged.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen!" Ember called into the broken microphone, "Welcome to the first concert of _The Dying Ember_!"

Danny saw only one man in the audience. He was old and withered, but he clapped as loudly as he could, faintly cheering, "That's my girl!"

As if no time had passed, Blaze tapped together his drum sticks, and the intro began.

.

The curtains were up, and the old man clapped. Sam was stunned to see Ember and a bunch of old people gathered, and even more so when they began to play:

 _Oh, welcome to the show!_

 _We are the dying embers_

 _Don't judge us for our names_

 _Though we may be the dying_

 _We burn as bright as any flame_

 _Our hearts will always shine_

 _Singing to the stars_

 _With a lullaby sound_

 _And oh,_

 _Can't you see us glow?_

 _We blaze and shine, a scarlet inferno!_

 _And it's not just for the show_

 _We're here to testify_

 _That no matter what you say_

 _Or even why you cry_

 _Our kindness will shine in bright in you hearts!_

 _We may be the embers_

 _Of a dying fire_

 _But still_

 _We'll never let that put us out_

 _Because we know_

 _That if you stroke us just right_

 _We shall burn brighter than ever before!_

 _And oh,_

 _Please feel free to do so_

 _For our hearts shall gleam_

 _With an ultraviolet beam!_

 _Embers are what we are_

 _And we'll never let that_

 _Put us out!_

 _We're better than those who've ever put us_

 _Down, shooting to the ground_

 _That's how the stars fall_

 _But we'll play to them_

 _With that lovely lullaby sound_

 _Picking them up_

 _Rekindling the Infernos of kindness_

 _Helping them rest,_

 _Helping them go into an everlasting sleep_

 _Oh, can't you hear us?_

 _Our songs echo in the dreams_

 _Of the stars,_

 _Stopping their weeping and_

 _Putting them to eternal sleep_

 _with our everlasting lullaby sounds_

 _Oh, Can't you see us?_

 _Embers we may be,_

 _But a scarlet blaze is the color of our glow,_

 _It's just how we go_

 _We are embers!_

 _And we're here_

 _To sing for you_

 _With our lullaby sounds!_

Sam found herself wiping a tear from her eye. She looked over to Annie, who stood up and cheered. The old man turned to them and grinned, giving them a thumbs-up sign. Ember bowed and said, "That was _A Lullaby Sound_ , written by our beautiful guitarist, Scarlet!"

They all clapped as the old woman blushed.

.

The crowd was wild. It cheered and roared, and Ember felt escalated.

"Amber," Scarlet said, "You ready for more?"

"Yeah," she breathed, and began looking through the crowd. Did her father come? He was her biggest fan, and she wanted him to see her in her very first major concert.

She looked sideways, where John, Anon and the queer Mr. F stood. For some reason she recognized the European. But from where?

Ember brushed it off. Mr. F himself was rather famous, so of course he would look familiar.

Anon whispered to him and he nodded.

"Ember! Ember! Ember!" the crowd screeched.

"Let's do this!" Blaze tapped his drumsticks three times, and Ember began the next song, _But My Heart Shines Brighter_.

.

10 whole songs. Ember's throat began to feel dry towards the end, but John came and handed her a water. She gulped it down and stepped aside so he could speak into the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our two biggest sponsors, Anon of Music Superstars, and Daniel Forester, queer European radio show host!"

They stepped out. Mr. F looked kind of nervous, maybe shy. He was kind of cute, Ember had to admit it. Mr. F looked out into the cheering crowd, and his face contorted in surprise.

Anon waved her arms and gave him a look. He said something, but the crowd drowned him out. Anon motioned for him to take the microphone.

"Hello," he sounded young, but then, he was European- and a famous one at that. Europeans have a very different way of doing things you know, "Thank you one and all for coming!" He wrapped an arm around Ember and said, "Let me be the first to say what an amazing concert that was! We'll begin making a contract with this very talented band very shortly!"

Ember gasped. That was the biggest deal ever. Forester was very, _very_ influential in the music industry, so for him to say that...

"I'm honored," Ember told him, tears in her eyes, "Thank you, thank you!" Ember turned to her band and screamed, "WE'RE GOING TO EUROPE!"

They all shouted back at her, grins spitting each members' face.

Ember noticed Anon helping someone on the stage. Ember turned to see, and-could it be?! Her father actually made it!

"Daddy!" Ember ran to him and gave him a bear hug.

He squeezed back and said, "Amber, I'm so proud of you."

"Oh, you're going to make me cry," Ember said, her vision becoming blurry.

"But it's true! You would make your mother proud!" Her father gushed.

She wrapped her arms tighter around him, "Thanks Daddy," she broke the hug and looked at him, grinning, "We did it! We're actually going to become famous, just like Mom!"

He smiled at her.

Suddenly, there was a light. It was nearly blinding, and it took Ember's eyes a minute to adjust. There was singing in this light, and a rock star with black hair and a purple stripe in the middle appeared.

"Mom?" Ember cried.

Her mother smiled and began to sing the lullaby that she used to when Amber was a little kid,

 _Hush, my lovely child_

 _Can you hear the wind, the wild?_

 _It's calling you, their songs,_

 _Sing, Amber my love_

 _Sing as loud as you can_

 _The stars will hear you_

 _And they will join you,_

 _singing along our lullaby_

She motioned for Amber, holding out her hand. Amber reached out to grab it.

"Mom?" She repeated, her voice cracking.

"Shhh," her mom said, "The stars await us."

Amber looked back. The stage was dusty and rusted now, and all her friends were old and withered. Her dad was crying. What happened to Mr. Forester and Anon though?

Her friends smiled up at her. Her dad gave her a thumbs-up, tears still flowing freely.

"You can do it my girl!" Her dad's voice was worn, "Sing me a song for our stars!"

"I will!" Amber barely choked back, "I love you!"

"I love you too," her father said, giving them both an air kiss.

Amber grabbed it out of the air and held it to her chest. Her fellow band members cheered words of encouragement.

"Be the star you were meant to be!" Scarlet said.

"Sing so loud that you make even the angels weep!" Blaze cheered.

"Yeah!" Inferno and John cried.

Amber was crying now. She wiped the tears from her eyes, then turned back to her mom.

"Are you ready now, my love?" her mother asked.

"Yeah," Amber looked back, then smiled before turning back to her mom, "I'm ready now," she whispered.

Her mom smiled, and handed her a microphone. And together they disappeared, singing a song that rang with a lullaby sound.

.

 **Oh, I nearly cried writing this last part! So yeah, Ember's moved on now.**

 **But what of Danny? What will Sam do to him? Will Annie side with him, or Sam?**

 **So I cut out many parts of that song. I've decided to make a whole 'album' of Ember Mclain songs for use of Danny Phantom fanfics only! (AND THEY MUST FEATURE EMBER!) Sadly, I can't link it to you yet, because of the whole 4 to 8 hour wait time.  
**

 **Oh my, so much trouble and conflict and what for this next chapter! I'll see you all when I see you!**

 **(Psst to avoid confusion for that last part, Danny IS Mr. F, and Anon is Anonymous. But that was how Ember saw them in her last death vision thing. All good? Okay...)**

 **BYE!**


	11. 10-Would I Lie to You?

For a moment there, Danny was Daniel Forester, the queer European talk show host. For a moment he could forget that Sam and Annie were running down towards him and that Anonymous slowed them down with a simple wave of her hand.

When Ember- no Amber's father told her all that mushy stuff, Amber's ghost flickered and turned brighter than anything he had ever seen.

And once again he was Danny Fenton, about to get an earful from his girlfriend.

John, now an old man, walked out and shook Danny's hand.

"Thanks for helping her find peace," he said to him.

Inferno did the same, carrying his electric keyboard, "Yeah, now we can all die happily."

Anonymous giggled and began to levitate the drums and Scarlet wheeled away Blaze.

"See you Phantom-boy," she shyly said, and waved her hand once again, allowing his two friends to run up to the stage, full speed, as the ghost and the rest of Amber's band left them.

"Bye, ghost-girl," Danny called back, just as Sam and Annie jumped onstage.

"What the heck Danny?!" Sam cried, putting her hands on her hips, not even slightly out of breath, "What was that about and why didn't you tell me?"

Danny glanced at Annie, who had a bemused and confused face. She shrugged at him, as if to say, she's your girlfriend.

"I think I helped Amber find peace," Danny chose his words carefully, "that was her band when she was alive. I was just helping Anonymous."

Sam crossed her arms, "It would've been nice if you let me know about it. You didn't even glance at us."

"Give him a break Sam," Annie piped up, "He was obviously under some sort of spell. Otherwise, he would have noticed us. And besides, no one got hurt. That ghost- Amber, right?- was obviously reliving her death, and Danny and Anon-y-whatever were helping her move on. Those others who just left probably were her relatives."

Danny smiled at Annie, glad that she could read the situation perfectly, as always, "Exactly. I was just helping."

"I'd still like to have known," Sam huffed.

"Oh, shush human," Anonymous walked up from behind just as Danny's ghost sense went back off, "He was the closest being who looked like the Mr. Forester. I would've gotten Forester to help, but he died and moved on years ago," Anonymous turned to Danny, "Thanks for being a good sport about it. Normally I'd get Amorpho to help in situations like these, but he's in Alabama, and I didn't have time to get him," Anonymous bowed in thanks, and vanished with a small smile.

Sam looked like she was going to explode in rage. Her fists closed into little balls, and she was fighting not to yell, not to scream, but it came out anyways:

"OH FUCK THAT GHOST. DANNY, I THOUGHT I COULD TRUST YOU! I THOUGHT WE WERE A TEAM!"

Danny winced, "Sam-"

"Don't Sam me! You promised that we'd do these types of things-"

"Shut. Up." Annie had put her hand on top of Sam's mouth.

Sam bit down, hard, and Annie yelped and pulled away from her mouth.

"Wha-" Danny stuttered as Sam attempted to punch Annie in the face.

Notice, though, it was an attempt.

Two years away in a nightmarish hell had honed Annie's skills. She skillfully caught Sam's fist, and pulled Sam in close,

"Would he lie to you?" she whispered.

Sam yanked herself away. She turned to Danny who now also wore a face of rage.

"Let's talk... alone," He said through gritted teeth.

Sam rolled her eyes. Annie raised some eyebrows and said, "I'll see you two later, then."

"What?" Sam said when Annie left them.

"Why the heck did you do that?! What makes you think punching my friend was okay?! Why in the heck do you think I'm lying to you?"

Sam found herself taking a deep breath. What to say? So she decided on the truth.

"I guess it's been since you introduced me to Annie. I just... I guess I'm getting jealous of how you two just connect. I feel like you've been giving her more... just more attention, and it was killing me."

Danny's face softened, and he sighed. "Sam, me and Annie are just friends. And I guess you're right, but I haven't seen her in over two years! Sheesh, give me a break! But punching her was wrong. Or trying anyway," Danny smirked, "I guess she learned a thing or two."

Sam hugged Danny and kissed him on the lips, "Thanks for understanding," she muttered.

Danny pulled away a little and looked Sam in the eye, "You have to at least apologize to her."

Sam looked away, ashamed, "Yeah, you're right."

They embraced again.

"Promise me you're not lying," Sam said.

"No Sam, I'm not," Danny breathed, kissing her again, "Why would I lie to you?"

 **IT HAS NOT BEEN 2 WEEKS! IT HAS BEEN _ALMOST_ 2 WEEKS! I uploaded last... oh shit I broke my promise.**

 **FORGIVE MEEEE! *screams***

 **Trouble in paradise Danny? Well, seems like Annie can handle herself.**

 **Is she becoming a Mary Sue? Please, let me know in your reviews! Have a good President's day!**


	12. 11-Yes

It had been two weeks since the meteor incident, and one week since Amber moved on.

Suffice to say, Danny hadn't gotten much time to spend with his friends.

He had it all planned out: a nice date with Sam on Saturday, and a fun video-gaming binge with both Tucker and Annie the next day. Since his parents would be gone that Sunday, they would have the house all to themselves! Oh yes, Danny was very excited indeed.

.

The next day Danny fixed up his hair and put on a nice shirt. This would be their first official date, after all. He wanted the date to be special. Sam had no idea where he was taking her, and he preferred it that way.

Finally, it was 6 o'clock. He picked up the picnic basket he had packed, and jumped into the air, flying to Sam's house. He knocked on the door, making the basket invisible.

"Hey Sam," Danny greeted her with a blush.

Sam wore a skin-tight black dress. Danny wanted to say she looked super sexy in it, but instead said, "You look really nice."

Sam smirked at him, "So where are we going, Danny?"

He held out a hand to her, "I'll fly you there."

She took it, and together they took off into the sunset.

.

They landed in the woods, near a lake a couple of miles out-of-town. Danny made the basket visible.

"A romantic picnic," Sam asked, surprised and pleased.

"Anything for you!" Danny unpacked two sodas and handed one to Sam. He then took out the sandwiches, "No meat or animal-like things. It's a tofu ham sandwich."

Sam blushed. "Where do I sit. I didn't think we'd be out in the woods."

Danny took a blanket out of the basket, "I've got you covered!"

They sat down after he unfolded it. Sam leaned on Danny's shoulder, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "Not bad," she commented.

Danny put an arm around her, "Yeah, Jazz gave me over-the-phone advice."

"Huh, I forgot she was spending the weekend at that college."

Danny nodded, "Yeah, my parents are picking her up tomorrow."

Sam got a mischievous grin, "Oh, the house all to yourself?"

"I'm going with them," Danny lied, "Isn't the sunset amazing?"

"Yeah," Sam sighed, sitting up, "do you know what else is amazing?"

"What?"

Sam kissed him on the lips. She didn't notice that Danny had a mouthful of real ham, so when they deepened the kiss,

"AHH!" Sam pulled back and spat out the remains, "Ug, meat!"

Danny laughed, "That's what you get!"

Sam took a mouthful of soda and swished it in her mouth before spitting it out, "I can't understand how you can stomach that stuff!"

Danny grabbed her waist and pulled her in for another kiss, "Oh, you know me," he murmured in her lips.

Sam laughed, and they kept kissing, and dinner was forgotten.

However, minutes in, when Danny began putting his hand up Sam's dress, Sam immediately stopped him.

"Sorry Danny," she told him, pulling away, "I'm waiting until I'm married."

Danny's face fell, but in a moment he wiped it away, "Sorry."

Sam picked up her sandwich again, giggling, "We can burn our V-cards when we get married!"

Danny's expression was unreadable. Sam figured it was his hormones talking, so she kissed his cheek. "don't look so down!"

Danny forced a smile, "Yeah, sorry. Hormones, you know?"

Sam laughed, but Danny was thinking, with slight guilt, _someone else already took mine._

.

Hours later, Danny just flew into Sam's room to drop her off.

"See you on Monday," Sam kissed him on the lips.

Danny kissed back, "Yeah," his voice was raspy when he pulled away. He gave Sam a shy smile and flew back through the window, his phone falling out of his pocket.

"Danny, wait!" Sam called out to him. Too late. He was gone.

 _I should return it to him_ Sam thought to herself, turning on the device, _after a little snooping, of course!_

Danny's phone wasn't password protected, so that made Sam's job a little easier. First, she went through the text messages, selecting the ones to Tucker first.

 _September 18_ _th_

 **Tucker:** Have you guys banged yet?

 **Danny:** No!

 **Tucker:** Really!? I thought you would've by now

 **Danny:** STOP!

 **Tucker** : Danny and Sam, laying in a tree...

 **Danny** : TUCKER STOP!

 **Tucker** : F-U-C-K-I-N-G

 **Danny** : I WILL NOT HESITATE TO OVERSHADOW YOU!

 **Tucker:** Fine

 **Danny:** Thank you

 _September 20_ _th_

 **Tucker:** Did you bang yet?

 **Danny:** AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'M COMING OVER!

 _Yesterday_

 **Tucker:** Do you remember if we have homework?

 **Danny:** Nope

 **Tucker:** Dang it

 **Danny:** Don't forget to bring the pizza!

 **Tucker:** (╭ ͜つ )╭ I got you!

 **Danny:** STOP YOU KNOW I HATE THOSE!

 _Today_

 **Tucker:** What'cha doing?

 **Danny:** Getting ready for a date with Sam

 **Tucker:** DON'T FORGET TO BANG!

 **Danny:** I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU ASK AGAIN!

 **Tucker:** (╭ σ ͜つσ)╭  
.

Sam exited out of the messages with Tucker. "Oh, what's this?" She muttered to herself, clicking on the messages that were under "Annie".

.

 _September 17_ _th_

Annie: DANNY THIS IS A NEW PHONE THIS IS A TEST TEXT!

 **Danny:** No need to shout

 **Annie:** Sorry. Just really horny, that's all

 **Annie: HAPPY**! I meant happy!

 **Danny:** And your autocorrect is malfunctioning

 **Annie:** thanks captain obvious.

 _September 18_ _th_

 **Annie:** SOS, ppl won't stop hounding me!

 **Danny:** where are you?

 **Annie:** By the fountain!

 **Danny:** I'm on my way. And I have to ask you something after I rescue you.

 **Annie:** K, HURRY!

 _September 19_ _th_

 **Annie** : PTSD is a real bitch. Was helping Mom and she tripped while holding... something. I forget, but it made a loud noise and I was there all over again DX

 **Danny:** You'll get better, I promise :)

 **Annie:** I hope so. Don't want to end up in a fight and a punch makes me shut down

 **Danny:** Don't worry; I'll be there to make it all better ;)

 **Annie:** You're too sweet.

.  
.

Alarm bells went off in Sam's head. Was Danny... cheating? She scrolled down and kept reading.

.

 **Annie:** Kissed and made up?

 **Danny:** Yeah, sorry about that

 **Annie:** eh. Bitches be bitchin, but no harm, no foul

 **Danny:** LOL, you're right. Thanks for understanding

 **Annie:** Of course :)

 _September 20_ _th_

 **Danny:** Ready for some fun?

 **Annie:** Yeah, if YOU'D TELL ME ALREADY!

 **Danny:** You'll see, it's a surprise ;)

 **Danny:** My parents and sister will be gone Sunday, so we'll have the house all to ourselves. Come to the house at noon.

 **Annie:** ;P I think I'd like that. You know how to make a girl have a good time ;)  
.

Sam nearly crushed the phone, ignoring the rest of the thread. He WAS cheating on her. Her vision went red, and she formed a plan.

Oh yeah, she'd catch him in the act. It would be him who got surprised, not Annie! That cheating little weasel!  
.

And she didn't see the new message from Tucker, which read this:

.

 **Tucker:** Start the games without me, I rescheduled for 10, but I'll be a little late! Can't wait for some video game fun tomorrow! AND DON'T GIVE ME PARKER JUST SO YOU COULD GET REVENGE!

 **Well, looks like Sam's a snoop. Too bad she didn't read the rest of Danny's text-chat... oh, but we'll get to that on the next chapter!**

 **Best way to stop a character from becoming a Mary Sue = PTSD.**

 **Oh, this next chapter's going to be intense.**


	13. 12-And No

"Bye Mom, Dad!" Danny called to his parents.

"Now don't do anything crazy now," his father said.

His mother gave him a kiss on the cheek, "We'll be back this evening! You kids have fun!"

"We will!" Danny exclaimed happily.

As soon as the door closed, Danny went straight to work. First, the food. He opened up the chips he'd been hiding from his father, got out the sodas, but where was his phone to order the sandwiches from Jimmy John's? Danny shrugged it off. Maybe he left it at Sam's, he'd have to go for it later. Too bad, though, they made amazing food.

Danny then went on to set up his video game console and got out the games they would play. Hopefully, Tucker would remember to bring over _Invaders_ and the pizza. Danny really wished he had his phone to text him.

It was noon. There was a soft knocking on the door. Danny opened it. Annie smiled at him. She wore a simple, cotton white dress that went down to her ankles with an equally simple, small purse. Danny's eyes almost bulged out of his head. She gained some more weight, he noticed, enough that a hint of hips and breasts were beginning to show once again.

 _Stop it, you're only friends now,_ he scolded himself.

"Hey Danny," she said.

"Hey," Danny stepped aside, "come on in."

"What games are we playing?"

" _Battle Royale, Slit-Throat, Space Invaders_ , and one of my personal favorites, _The Ocean of Emptiness._ "

" _The Ocean of Emptiness_ sounds ominous," Annie commented, "I think I'll go with that one."

"As always Annie my dear, you have a great taste in video games!" Danny told her as he put in the disk.

Annie blushed, "Hey, where's the nearest outlet again?"

Danny pointed.

Annie went straight to an outlet. "Sorry. I forgot to put it on the charger last night." She took out a charger and plugged it in. But looking at her phone, she groaned in frustration.

"What is it?"

"I brought the broken charger!"

"You want to borrow mine?"

"Is it for the iPhone?" Annie asked.

"Android," Danny shrugged, "sorry."

Annie waved him away, "It's okay."

Danny smiled at her, but it disappeared when he looked at the clock, "Where's Tucker?"

"You didn't get his text?"

"I lost my phone," Danny explained, "And no, it was not utterly destroyed in a ghost fight, I really lost it!"

Annie giggled, then showed him the text from Tucker.

 _Yesterday_

 **Tucker:** Start the games without me, a stupid meeting came up and I'll probably be a few minutes late. AND DON'T GIVE ME PARKER! HE SUCKS!

 **Annie:** I think Parker's a good character. And I promise nothing ლ(◉◞౪◟◉)ლ

 **Tucker:** ಠ_ಠ

Danny laughed, "Shall I get you a soda?"

"As long as a ghost doesn't pop out and try to eat my face," Annie replied with a chuckle.

They went into the kitchen, and Annie grabbed a bowl of chips.

"Are you still trying to gain weight?" Danny asked curiously, handing her a root beer.

"Yeah. I've gained nearly 30 now! I need 20 more pounds to be a healthy weight!" Annie said proudly.

Danny whistled. How underweight was she when Annie came back? Danny knew she needed more weight, but that much?

"Well, let the games begin!" Danny announced as soon as he got his own bowl of snacks.

A little sheepishly, Annie quietly asked, "Can we mute the TV?"

Danny looked at her, "Uh, sure."

"Thanks," she replied, smiling at him with relief.

It was in that moment Danny remembered that her PTSD could trigger at sudden loud noises. He didn't say anything about it, but he could understand.

Annie picked up a controller and sat down on the couch, grinning at him, "I'm going to kick your ass phantom-boy!"

Danny couldn't help but laugh. He sat next to her, "Not if I kill you first, ghost-girl!"

Selecting multiplayer mode, the two friends began to play.

About ten minutes of screaming later, Tucker let himself in, holding a box of pizza.

"Hey guys," he said, "what's-"

"I'M GETTING MY BUTT KICKED!" Danny screeched.

"He just can't handle the heat of space," Annie smirked, "Mm, is that pepperoni?"

Tucker opened up the box, "Why yes, yes it is." He picked up the controller and groaned, "I told you guys not to leave me with stupid Parker!"

Annie shrugged at him, "You snooze, you lose."

"She's right," Danny added.

"Screw you guys," Tucker said, jumping into the game, "I'll kill you all!"

Tucker gasped as soon as Annie blew his character's head off.

"You were saying?" Annie giggled.

Danny and Tucker looked at each other. With a nod, both teamed up against Annie.

It was a fierce, brutal and heartless battle. Annie had no mercy. But neither did the boys. In the end, however, it was a tie. They would've kept playing for more than that measly hour if Danny's ghost sense hadn't gone off.

"I AM TECHNAS!" the ghost would've bellowed, had the mute button been off.

"Oh, what's he saying?" Annie asked, curious, taking a bite of pizza.

"Someone who's about to get their butt kicked," Danny answered, springing into action as his alto-ego.

Tucker and Annie's controllers were yanked out of their hands as the TV began to float upwards, all the wires to the video game consoles coming to life and whipping every which way. Green electricity flashed around. Annie jumped up, pale, and tried to make a run for it. But Technus was quick and used one of his wires on her. There was a nice snap as Technus hit her on the back, drawing blood.

Danny gasped and lunged at Technus. But not before he heard Annie's animalistic wails.

Onscreen, Technus laughed.

"TUCKER!" Danny shouted over the noise as his friend grabbed a baseball bat and began battling the wires. He saw his friend get whipped in the arm. Technus was out for blood, Danny noticed, as Tucker's own arm began to bleed.

Danny's vision went white. No one gets away with hurting his friends like that! He blasted the TV with a shot of ice, followed by a ghostly green punch. Technus went down easily, and Danny got out the Fenton canister.

Technus made no sound as he went in. He looked stunned that he was defeated so easily. Everything dropped to the ground with a giant _crash_. Danny capped the furnace and both boys went to Annie.

She was still screaming, tears streaming down her face. Danny could barely make out her words through her yelling.

" _I'm sorry I'll do better next time just please make it stop, stop it please oh my GOD PLEASE STOP IT HURTS! I'msorrysorrysorrysorry..._ " her voice settled down to incoherent mumbling.

Tucker touched her shoulders, and Annie flinched away.

"We have to stop the bleeding," Tucker said to Danny, "But we need to calm her down first."

"Maybe we should call her mom," Danny suggested.

Tucker took out his cell, "Dang it. It's busted. What about yours?"

"Annie's phone is dead, and I can't find mine," Danny explained, becoming human again before sighing, "Go get the first aid, Tucker. Patch yourself up first, then bring it to my room. I'll try calming her down."

Tucker nodded and carefully made his way around the ruins of the living room.

"Annie?" Danny gently said, "It's me. You're safe now."

She looked up at him, her face red and shiny from tears. She leaped at him and hugged him tightly, "Forgive me for not helping. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Ssh," He cooed, "you're fine, you're fine."

Annie let out another sob, getting Danny's shirt wet with snot and tears.

Danny noticed how red her white dress was getting.

"Annie," he whispered, "I'm going to have to take off your dress. You're bleeding."

Annie whimpered but nodded her head against him. Danny made the dress intangible before tossing it across the room.

Oh. That was quite a gash across her back. It went from her bra down to the small of her back. Danny decided to take off his own shirt and pressed it against her wound until he could think of something better to use.

"Is it bad?" Annie croaked.

Danny noticed the scars running up and down her back, her legs. This wasn't the worst she's faced, he realized with horror.

"No," he lied, "First I need to take you to the bathroom to wash this scratch. Then I'm taking you to my room so you can lay down while we bandage you up." As gently as he could, Danny picked her up

 _Oh she was just so lightweight and soft how is that even possible...?_

and flew into the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Danny picked up a sponge and turned on the water. With some soap, he began to wash her back. Blood ran down the drain, as Annie closed her eyes and groaned.

Danny realized with a blush that the water was making her underwear transparent.

F _ocus on cleaning her up,_ he thought to himself desperately. Was it cheating if he was reacting this way? Danny bit his lip. He had to calm down.

"Alright, I'm taking you to my room now," Danny told her as soon as he was done. Annie nodded as he picked her up again, grabbing a towel and leaving behind the bloody shirt.

As he lay Annie across the bed, he took out a blanket to cover the lower half of her body. He pressed the towel onto her back. Annie let out a squeal.

.

Traffic was a real bitch. Sam had gotten held up by her parents when she was about to leave. Then she got stuck in the lunch rush hour. And THEN she had to go through a construction zone, which made her arrive at Danny's house a little over an hour than she intended.

"Whoa, what happened here?" Sam wondered to herself. It looked like someone had a vendetta on what was once was the TV, now in a million pieces. She couldn't see anyone, but Sam heard voices upstairs. Making her way around the mess, Sam headed for the stairs.

The sounds were coming from Danny's room. Through the door, she could he mutters and groans. Sam clenched her fists. She KNEW it, she fucking _KNEW_ it! Getting out her own phone and beginning the camera, Sam kicked down the door.

Danny jumped in surprise as the door swung open. Annie cried out and began to scream into the pillow, sent back into her own little hell due to the noise.

"Sam?!" he exclaimed, realizing how bad this looked. Annie on his bed with only her underwear on, and Danny, shirtless. But could she not see his bloody towel, trying to stop the bleeding across Annie's back?

"I KNEW IT!" Sam yelled at him, "You're cheating on me!"

"Sam, calm down, this really isn't-"

"No, no! I will not! I have your dirty act on film now, you dirty, filthy liar! I-"

"Sam?!" Tucker walked in from behind her, holding a first aid kit, "What are you doing here?"

It was Sam's turn to jump up. Still filming, she turned to Tucker, "What am I doing here?! What are _you_ doing here?!"

Tucker set down the first aid kit next to Annie and opened it up. "Today's our video game battle royale," he pulled out some rubbing alcohol, "Technus showed up, and pretty much wrecked Annie."

Sam finally noticed the towel, soaked in Annie's blood. She noticed how Annie was sobbing into the pillow, and let out a muffled scream as Tucker put the medicine on her back.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Tucker observed, "What were you saying, Sam?"

Danny shot her a look filled with daggers, "Yeah, what were you saying?"

Sam suddenly felt very foolish. She put the phone down as the boys began putting bandages on Annie's back.

"I- I thought, I mean," she stuttered, "Well, why is she in her underwear?" she demanded instead, "If only her back's hurt, why isn't she wearing pants?"

Danny rolled his eyes, "She was wearing a _dress_ , Sam. We had to take it off to _help_ her." He walked up to her, his hands crossed over his chest, "I guess you can't trust me, right? That's the whole reason you came in with your camera on, right?"

"I-I-"

"You took my phone, didn't you!" It was not a question, "Did you read my texts?!"

Sam's face turned red, and she pulled out Danny's phone. Danny snatched it from her hands, and pulled up the texts she failed to read:

.

 **Danny:** You'll see, it's a surprise ;)

 **Danny:** My parents and sister will be gone Sunday, so we'll have the house all to ourselves. Come to the house at noon.

 **Annie:** ;P I think I'd like that. You know how to make a girl have a good time ;)

 **Danny:** Of course ;) Bring your best lucky charm! I plan to kick both your butts!

 **Annie:** Oh really now? We playing video games?

 **Danny:** Maybe ;) You'll see tomorrow!

.

"Does that look like a cheating text?" Danny hissed, "Because all I see are two friends who're just planning a get-together!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have lied that you were going with your parents!" Sam snapped back.

"I _lied_ because I know how jealous you get when I'm around Annie! Why can't you just trust me?!"

"What do you think?"

Danny took a step back, his arms limping to his sides. He sighed.

"We'll talk about this later," he sounded tired, "Just... let me try and calm down my friend again. Tucker seems to be doing a terrible job."

Tucker looked up at him, "Hey, not all of us can be soothing and charming like you!" He paused, surprised at himself, "That sounded really, really gay."

Envy flamed into Sam's vision as she watched Danny sit on the bed and leaned over Annie, whispering words of comfort and hugging her near-naked body. Annie continued to whimper, but slowly, she wrapped her arms around Danny into a hug. Danny's back was to her, but Sam could see Annie's face. Her eyes were closed, snot and tears running down her face. She was visibly shaking.

The jealousy died down when they pulled away. Annie smiled at him.

"You'll be okay, I promise," Sam heard Danny say.

Annie nodded, wiping her nose with her hand. "Yeah, I just-" she stopped when she saw Sam, "When did you get here?"

Sam looked away but said nothing.

Annie looked down at herself and blushed furiously, pulling up the blanket further, "Oh. Uh, Danny, do you have-"

"Yeah, hold on," Danny walked to his closet and pulled out two new shirts, tossing one to Annie. They both put them on together, although it looked two times too big on Annie.

"Thanks," she said.

"You better now?" Tucker asked Annie.

She nodded, "Yeah, thanks, Good-Luck Tuck."

"No problem, ghost-girl. Now let's find you some pants."

Annie giggled.

Sam clenched her fists again. Tucker and Danny were never that comfortable around her.

She felt Danny put a hand on her shoulder, "Maybe you and I should have another talk. Alone."

Sam shuddered, thinking up of ways to earn his forgiveness, "Alright."

.

 **UPDATED 3/4/2017 Minor grammar issues, bathroom scene is also added.**

 **Have a great day!**


	14. 13- The Problem Is

They left Tucker and Annie behind and walked out into the hallway. Danny crossed his arms again at Sam and looked her dead in the eyes.

"Why can't you trust me?"

Sam had finally come up with what to say, "Because I love you and I can't stand the thought of you with another girl."

"Even if she's been my best friend since I was a baby?!"

"Yeah, I just… there are rumors at school saying you two are together, you're cheating, and-"

"Sam, it was you who told me to that those fuckers were nothing, that what they say doesn't mean shit. Now you're saying that what they say it's true?" Danny shook his head at her.

Sam grabbed his hands, "You have to believe me on this Danny! She's… she's plotting to take you away from me!" Sam had fake tears running down her face, "She's jealous! She's driving us apart Danny!"

Danny looked at her with doubt, so Sam pressed on with her lies, "You never told me about her! You kept her a secret from me! Now that she's not a secret, she wants you all to herself! What we have is real Danny, as real as it'll ever get! You-"

"Fire-fucking-truck, you're not serious?" Annie cursed, leaning on Tucker as they burst through the door, "Sam, can I use your phone to call my mom? I hear you're the only one left with one and my back's burning."

Sam handed her the phone, not looking Annie in the eye. Sam had a feeling the girl could read right through her. But when she glanced at Danny, Sam noticed uncertainty.

 _Hook, line and sinker,_ Sam thought.

"Hey Mom, can you pick me up?" Annie said into the phone, "Oh, the usual stuff here at Fenton's house. Got a little hurt. Yeah, sorry. They both said it's not that bad looking. Just like when we were five, huh? Well no, I don't! I was five Mom, that was like, a million years ago! Okay, see you soon. Love you lots. Bye!" Annie handed Sam the phone, "Thanks, Sam." Annie turned to the boys, "Sorry guys. I was hoping for an all-out battle of wits and stupidity. Maybe next time. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Bye Annie," Danny said to her. It looked as if Danny was about to hug her, letting go of Sam's hand, but stopped himself, "Uh, better wait until your mom looks at that."

Annie smiled, "See you, phantom-boy."

And with Tucker's help, she left downstairs.

Sam grabbed Danny's hand and squeezed it happily, smiling at him.

Danny smiled back at her, but inside, he felt as if his heart was being torn.

He desperately needed some advice. And he remembered one ghost who could offer him that without judgment.

.

Once the mess was cleaned up, once Sam had ordered a replacement TV and had it reinstalled into his living room within minutes, once everyone went home, Danny changed into his ghost form and flew into the sky.

It was sunset. There were no clouds in the sky, but Danny remembered how he first met her. He turned onto his back and let out a deep breath, letting his arms fan out. The wind was like a soft bed. He closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, His ghost sense went off. He heard soft singing, and opened his eyes, listening to the song:

 _._

 _I don't know where I belong  
but still I keep holding on and on_

 _._

Almost immediately after he heard this, he bumped into something. Anonymous let out a surprised yell, and Danny straightened himself out.

Today her dress was as dark as dark could ever be. It brought out the blueness of her eyes against her tanned skin and even darker hair.

"We meet again," Anonymous said, blushing, "I swear if you didn't bump into me with an intention to find me, I- well that's never happened twice in a row, so I wouldn't know what to do."

"No," Danny sighed, "I needed to spill some secrets."

Anonymous sat on the clouds and patted one next to her, "I do not judge. I am a secret-keeper. As one, I only keep your secrets and give you advice."

Danny sat next to her. "Yeah, I really, really need some." With an exhale, he began his tale:

 _It began when I became human again_ …

Anonymous listened without interruption, her face carefully neutral. She seemed to understand all aspects of his story. From making love to Annie in the hospital to just trying to keep their friendship alive, to his new relationship with Sam, a girlfriend who's entirely different than any other he's had. He told her everything. How every time he sees Annie, conflicting emotions boil to the surface. He doesn't want to cheat on Sam, never, are these thoughts cheating thoughts? Is Sam right, and Annie wants to break them up?

When Danny was done, he simply looked at Anonymous. She was pensive. After a minute, she said,

"You're not cheating on Sam. Your thoughts are simply that: thoughts. You can't help it- you're a teenage boy. Hormones are strange Danny, but as long as you use your head, and don't act on those thoughts, you are not cheating on Sam.

"As for Annie, from what you've told me it seems that she is just content with being your friend. I understand the hospital sex; you both thought the world might end. You didn't cheat on Sam either that time- it sounds like you weren't even together then! And if _she's_ the one who told you to date Sam, I'd like to think that what she said about getting to know you again it true. If not, I think you'd be dating her, not Sam.

"Now onto your girlfriend. She sounds rather jealous. Does she know about the hospital thing?"

Danny shook his head.

"Huh," Anonymous continued, "Well, I wouldn't tell her about the sex, just the part about being friends. You'll have to tell her you guys _were_ together before she went missing. But now you're just friends. Tell her that it was Annie who urged you to go out with Sam. She has absolutely nothing to worry about. And put a stupid lock on your phone if you don't want Sam to snoop."

"Easier said than done," Danny replied, "I have it unlocked so it could be easier to make a call when I'm in a fight."

Anonymous shrugged, "I give advice. You don't have to follow it, but from all the secrets I have gathered," She shrugged, "that seems to be the best thing for your situation."

Danny stood up and jumped into the air. "Thanks, Anonymous. I'll try it out. "

Anonymous waved, and as Danny turned to fly away, he heard the ghost singing to herself,

.

 _I get by in a world with no conscience  
by shouting it out and being Anonymous.  
And the problem is…_

 _._

Anonymous' voice faded into oblivion before Danny could hear the rest.

.

Was it possible to be Annie's friend and Sam's girlfriend? Danny thought to himself as he flew to Sam's house. Sam had to understand that they _were_ _just friends_.

He knocked on her window. Sam opened it and smiled at him. Danny smiled back and flew in.

"What do you need Danny?" Sam asked him cheerfully.

"We never really continued that conversation of ours. About you, me, and Annie," Danny said as he changed back into his human form.

Sam rolled her eyes, "What is there to talk about? Just stay away from her, and we'll be fine."

"I don't want to do that Sam. Look, I just talked to An-"

"Annie? You went to _her_ before _me?"_

"Why can't you listen to me?!" Danny had to stop himself from yelling, "The ghost, Anonymous! She's a ghost of secrets, okay? She gave me some good advice, and I want to be your boyfriend _and_ be friends with Annie. I want to make this work Sam."

Sam crossed her arms and sat on her bed, "Fine. I'm listening."

"Okay, don't get mad. Annie and I used to be together when she went missing,"

"Say _what?!"_

"But while she was in the hospital, she insisted that, since she went missing, that I date you and we just get to know each other all over again. Two years is a long time Sam. Neither of us knows the other as well as we used to. I just want to be her fri-"

"She's a sly bitch, that's what she is," Sam interrupted, "Ever hear of reverse psychology? She's using that on you, so that she can steal you and humiliate me!"

"Sam, I thi-"

 _SLAP!_

Both froze. Danny looked at Sam, shocked, and Sam quickly finished what she was saying;

"Stay away from her Danny! Didn't you just say you didn't know her anymore? We have no idea what she did while she was gone! I don't trust her, and you shouldn't either! SHE IS PLOTTING TO TEAR US APART!"

Danny put his hand on his cheek. It stung a little bit, but he's had much worse. He simply stared at Sam.

"Do you understand me?" she demanded.

Hesitantly, still stunned, he replied, "Yeah, I understand. I'm sorry for not listening to you."

Sam's anger instantly became happiness. "Glad we could settle that without too much violence." And she kissed him.

Danny kissed back, almost forgetting the fact that she slapped him. He pulled away and sighed, "I should get home now."

Sam looked up at him, her cheeks flushed, "Oh, fine. I know how your mom gets."

Danny became a ghost once again, "I'll see you."

"I love you," Sam said, giving him one last kiss.

Danny smiled a small smile, "I love you too."

.

Somehow, he'd have to make an excuse for his parents why he and Annie couldn't hang out together anymore. But first, he needed to talk to his soon-to-be ex-best friend.

Danny flew to Annie's house and knocked on the window, just to be polite. He flew in without waiting for a reply, as he always did when they were little. Instead of climbing onto the top of the tree by the window and going through the window like usual, he phased through.

The radio was playing, but Annie wasn't in the room. He briefly wondered if she still changed in the bathroom instead of her bedroom. A weird habit of hers, but he became human and sat on his bed, listening to the song:

.

 _We feel so anonymous  
(Hello, hello, hello) _

_._

The song ended just as Annie came in, wearing a nightgown. Danny was curious about the song, but Annie beat him to the punch.

"Anonymous by Three Days Grace," Annie said, "Great band- I recently just discovered them." She sat down next to him as the next song started up:

.

 _You know you need a fix when you fall down_

.

Annie turned down her radio, "Man, when was the last time you sneaked into my room for one of our nightly chats?"

.

 _You know you need to find a way_

 _._

"Too long," Danny replied, and looked away nervously, "Look, Annie..."

"Danny, what happened to your face?" Annie interjected, looking at the cheek Sam slapped.

"Just a ghost fight, nothing to worry about," Danny lied.

Annie gave him a look, "You're lying."

"No, I'm not!"

Annie tackled Danny and pinned him under her.

Oh, shoot. Their bodies were aligned perfectly, their foreheads touching. Danny once again noticed her hips and breasts that had began to form due to her weight gain.

"Liar," Annie whispered, "You're a dirty little liar Daniel."

"I-I-"

.

 _Never gonna let you get away_

.

"Tell me the truth. You know I can keep you here as long as I want to."

Danny began to get dizzy. His hormones, his instincts, were beginning to take control. Danny's head was getting fuzzy. He forgot that he could just simply become intangible and escape her grip. Sex was beginning to cloud his mind, oh why, why?!

He knew exactly why. Ever since they first did it, she found out every way to get him to talk, every way to torment him, but it was vice versa as well, he could see that she was struggling to keep her thoughts straight...

"I-An-Annie," Danny moaned, "please, you-"

"Yes," she breathed, "I know how bad it gets. Just tell me the truth."

He struggled weakly. "Okay," he cried out after a minute, "Sam did it! She slapped me!"

Annie sat up but still sat on top of him. Danny tried pulling himself up, gasping, his head still spinning.

"I hate when you do that," Danny said, still trying to calm himself down.

"Why did she slap you?" Annie's voice was weak, she was close to caving as well

.

 _I, I can be your painkiller, killer, killer_

 _._

Danny tried looking away, but Annie wiggled her hips. So instead, he found himself falling onto her chest, wheezing, clutching her shoulders desperately. Danny could feel her breath in his ears, her hands on his back. She continued to wiggle her hips, knowing that he'd eventually cave and tell her what she wanted to know. But he didn't want to, so he found himself kissing her neck...

.

 _I know what you want so desperately_

 _._

Oh God, what was he doing? Why is he letting her control him like this, why is he even talking to her? Danny tried thinking up of a way to escape her grasp but-

"She doesn't want us to be friends anymore!" he finally admitted, almost losing complete control of everything, "I can't be your friend anymore!"

Annie cupped his cheeks, forcing him to look at her. His face was red, he was out of breath, Danny was sweating like mad, his body of getting out of control, is he cheating, is this cheating? His body was screaming, screaming with need, but she would never give it to him, not now, not while he and Sam were together, but she could still torment him...

.

 _'Cause I know what you feed on and what you lead on_

 _._

She tipped her forehead against his, closing her eyes. Finally, she sighed and got off of him.

Danny sprang up, but fell to his knees, his head still spinning. He was gasping for breath.

"I-I why can't you just- I know I lied but why- Annie, you know how I feel- every time, I swear, every fucking time Annie," Danny was trying to form some sort of coherent thought.

She was just as unsettled. Unless Danny was actively trying to have sex with her or trying to get her to talk, he was always the first to completely lose control of himself, and his instincts would take over before she would join in the madness, and they would be a mess of passion and bed sheets.

"I know you too well," she panted, "You either talk and I stop, or some serious kinkiness happens."  
"Fuck you. This is why Sam wants me to stay away from you. She thinks you want to seduce me and steal me from her."

Her voice was hurt, soft, "I-I'm sorry."

Danny looked up at her, his eyes beginning to well up, "Real friends don't try sabotaging their relationships, or seduce them."

"I- oh God Danny, sometimes I forget that things are completely different now," Annie sobbed.

.

 _'Cause I'm the shoulder you cry on  
The dust that you die on_

 _._

Danny could finally stand up again. He hugged his friend, crying, "It's my fault for not fazing through you but... Annie, she means so much to me, I don't want to lose her, but if you do that to me again... you are no longer a friend of mine."

"I-I don't want to lose you too. I fought tooth and claw to get back here. I didn't even go home first, I went to your house! You're... you're just the best, you know?" Annie squeaked, "But I'll respect your wishes if it'll make you happy. No more seeing each other, then."

Danny pulled away and looked at her, gritting his teeth. Oh, it tore his heart to say this: "No. I mean, we can, but only if someone else is around. I can't visit you like this anymore, and you can't visit me either. And no more doing school projects together, or giving each other locker notes. We have to minimize our contact if I want to ever have a chance with Sam."

Annie shook with sorrow, "Then so be it. I will try to disappear from your life... I will become nothing, an unknown to you. But I will always be there for you, whether as a stranger or your best friend, whichever you choose."

Danny gave her another hug, his heart still breaking with every word.

.

 _Find another cure?_

 _._

"Thank you... Annabel."

 **Sam just ripped these two friends apart! WTF.**

 **I was surprised at myself when I wrote this. But is Sam sort of right? I mean, what Annie did to get Danny to tell the truth... but nothing happened, it _was_ all in Danny's head.**

 **FUCK**

 **Three Days Grace's song _Anonymous_ also inspired this fanfic, just an FYI. It's Anonymous' theme song. So I'm using the lyrics from that song for these chapter titles too, K? **

**If you didn't notice it yet, I updated that last chapter. Just some grammar issues, and a tad bit little more action with Technus. But other than that, it's exactly the same.**

 **I don't own the songs Anonymous OR Painkiller, (The other song featured in this chapter) both by Three Days Grace. Danny Phantom ain't mine either.**

 **THIS NEXT CHAPTER... WTF WILL HAPPEN?! Only I know ;)**


	15. 14-That Horrible Throbbing

Fame and fortune, that's what one expects when you're the most famous person in the world, right?

Well, no, it was actually annoying as hell.

The main problem was the paparazzi. They followed him nearly _everywhere_ while he was in his ghost form. For some reason, though, only those at school bugged him as he was Fenton. Danny really didn't understand why, however.

But it was still bad enough. He hasn't gone out to the movies with Tucker, as he's now always occupied with being the mayor. It was nearly impossible to go on a date with Sam, since they were both hounded by everyone about their love life, which was nearly nonexistent since Annie came back to school.

Annie.

Sometimes Danny wondered how her life was going…

.

Heartbreak.

No one wants to feel it. No one wants to have it.

But it is what makes us human.

 _We got into a fight_ , he told his parents when he didn't speak to her as the Gust's were over for dinner, and vise versa _. Things were said_ , he told Tucker, _and we found out we can no longer tolerate each other._

But everything he did felt as if everything he'd done was a lie.

It _was_ a lie, a beautiful lie at that. But Danny wanted to be with Sam. He loved her, he told himself. And she loved him.

Sam didn't hit him again. In fact, she was sweeter than ever. But despite that, Danny felt as if a piece of him was missing. His soul throbbed with pain.

.

Amity Park was experiencing an all-time low on the appearances of ghosts. All that Danny fought lately were the animal-type ghosts: dead wolves, bears, the occasional box ghost, and blobs of plasma that never did harm anybody, but simply destroyed.

Danny wondered where the real enemies were. The only true 'enemy' was Anonymous, who he ran into occasionally. When these occurrences happened, she would smile and ask how he was doing. Naturally, he lied that everything was alright, that it worked. She would give him this look, a look that a boy like Danny never understood before she nodded at him and vanished. Danny never went back to her for advice, and nor did she appear to ask for his help.

Perhaps it was better that way.

.

 _Weeks later…_

A new Mexican restaurant opened up, one called _La Mesa._ Apparently it was the grand re-opening, and Danny decided to take Sam there for dinner. Hopefully the press would not follow.

Incidentally, they didn't. Once again Danny noted that they did not bug him while he was human, which made him concerned for a second. But he brushed it off.

The indistinguishable smell of chile greeted the couple as they walked into the waiting room. It was empty, save for one thing…

"Welcome to _La Mesa_ , please wait to be seated!" A double-yellow headed Amazon parrot called to them, lifting up his feathers in greeting. Then he called out, " _Mama! Mama!"_

Danny and Sam laughed.

An old woman came out, brandishing a cane, "What Peppito?"

"More people!" He cried, "And I love you Mama!"

The old woman chuckled. She turned to Sam and Danny, "Hello, my name is Rosa, your hostess. Did he greet you?"

"Yes," Danny replied with a grin.

Rosa took out a tortilla and gave the parrot a small piece, "Good job Peppito."

Peppito wolf whistled, and took the tortilla with his claws.

"Our tables are all currently full, so please, take a seat and wait," Rosa instructed, then smiled and left.

"I didn't think that there would actually be a parrot," Sam said as the bird began to eat.

"Yeah, me either," Danny answered, "Peppe, was it?"

"What?!" The parrot stopped and looked at him, dropping his treat, "I like food!"

Danny's ghost sense went off. Just then Anonymous and Youngblood walked in. Peppito wolf whistled, then yelled, " _Mama, more people, Mama, he has a parrot! Mama!"_

"Auntie Ann, look, another parrot!" Youngblood cried, running up to Peppito.

Anonymous winked at Danny and put a finger to her lips. Sam looked at both of them, stunned. Danny stopped her from marching to Anonymous and stopping her from whatever plans she might have had.

Sam looked at him angrily, but Danny ignored it, watching them.

Anonymous walked to Youngblood, "Yes it is _mijo_ , hopefully they'll let Johnny stay and talk with him.

Youngblood's assistant whistled back, acting like a normal parrot.

Rosa came back in, "Oh Peppe, you get much too excited. Welcome to _La Mesa_ , we'll be right with you," she then turned to Danny and Sam, "Your table's ready."

They followed the hobbling woman.

"Watch your step," she warned them as she walked into the dining area. "Lots of people always forget to mind that stupid step."

The restaurant was painted like a tropical rain forest. The chairs and tables had carvings of parrots and tree frogs, panthers and alligators all over them. All the walls had the same mural, with trees and a stunning waterfall cliff. Candle-lit lamps gave the illusion of a sunset in the room, letting out a sweet smell. Rosa showed the couple to a booth, then bowed and left.

"Is that… _Dash and Annie?!_ Sam half-whispered to Danny, subtly pointing.

Danny looked. Yes, it was. They sat across the room, from them, laughing and eating what might have been enchiladas and tostadas. Danny wondered what they were talking about as pangs of sadness and jealousy went through him. When did she and _Dash_ of all people become a thing?!

The waiter came over, greeting them and handing them menus and putting down a bowl of chips with 4 different kinds of dips.

Danny's sense went off again. The ghosts sat in the booth in front of them, but Youngblood's assistant was noticeably missing.

Sam leaned forward and asked through gritted teeth, "What are you doing?! Aren't you going to stop them from whatever plans Youngblood and this _Anonymous_ might have?"

Danny could see Anonymous, as she sat in a way so that she could be looking directly at him. She blushed, and then clapped her hands.

The restaurant changed. Instead of the rain forest, there were chile's on the walls, paintings of Mexico City and dancing couples. The place felt as if it belonged to a different time period, and perhaps it did. Danny and Sam no longer sat in a booth, but at a regular two-person table.

"What the-" Sam cried, looking around her.

"Auntie Ann, I want tacos!" Youngblood, or the version of him that was alive, said.

This Youngblood looked very different. He still wore his pirate costume, but his skin was tanned, his hair black. His fake hook lay beside him on the table, and he was kicking his feet impatiently.

"Tacos, I should call you the Macho Taco," Anonymous replied. She now wore a huipil, with big, gold earrings to match. Her nails were painted bright pink, and her eyes had become a soft brown. She clapped again, and they faded back to present day.

"What was that?!" Sam asked Danny.

"I think that was what Youngblood is seeing," Danny answered, watching as Anonymous continued to talk to the ghost kid. He quickly explained how ghosts re-lived their deaths every couple of years.

Sam looked behind her, now curious, "I wonder how he died then."

Danny shrugged, "Let's just try to enjoy dinner. They're not doing anything wrong, and nobody here seems to notice the fact that they're ghosts."

Sam sighed, "Alright."

.

If anything, dating Dash was a boring mistake.

He was nice, Annie thought. She had been mildly surprised when he asked her out last Thursday. Taking her out to eat was a kind thing to do. She could appreciate someone who sensed her love of Mexican food. I mean, what was not to love about tostadas and enchiladas? And, Annie admitted with reluctance, he was a bit charming.

"So, how long have you and Fenton known each other?" Dash asked as soon as they sat down.

Well shit. Another guy who just wanted to know about her relationship with Danny, why didn't she see this coming?

"None of your business," Annie retorted, "How long have you been in the football team?"

Annie regretted the sarcastic question as Dash began a big speech about his football dreams. From every game since he was four to the Super Bowl play-offs. Annie just pretended to be interested, but on the inside, she was dying. She HATED football.

Annie was glad when the food came, and Dash shut up. Then her ears perked up.

 _Danny_.

She could hear his voice from across the room. Resisting the urge to look, she tried listening in, but the restaurant was too noisy.

However, Dash didn't know when to quit.

"You never answered my question Annie."

Annie swore to herself. Then an idea went off in her head, "Why don't you ask Danny? He's literally _across the room_!"

Dash nodded and looked in the direction Danny was sitting in, "That's a good idea," he remarked, standing up.

Now Annie had an excuse to glance over in that direction. She picked up her soda and sipped it through the straw. Her eyes widened as she realized Danny was on a date with Sam.

 _This ought to be interesting_ , she thought.

.

"How long have you and Gust known each other," Dash nearly slurred at them.

Danny found himself nearly coughing up his dinner in surprise, "What?"

"And have you guys had sex as well?"

Danny looked over to Dash, horrified. Sam looked just as disgusted.

"Are you high?" Danny countered instead. Dash was known to hide the fact incredibly well.

Dash straightened himself out and replied, "And a little drunk. Now how long have you two known each other, and have you done it?"

Danny glanced over to where Annie was sitting. She looked back at him, sipping her soda, a bemused expression on her face. He became worried for her. Dash was also known to do some pretty stupid stuff around girls when he got high and drunk.

"That's none of your business!" Danny snapped, "Go away, I'm trying to eat."

"So you _have_ done it!" Dash exclaimed, "HEY EVERY-"

Dash never finished, as Danny overshadowed him.

"Whoa," he said through Dash's mouth, "It's really hard to control his body."

"Just get him away from here," Sam told him, "And tell _Annie,_ " Sam practically hissed the name, "to keep her boy in line."

He nodded and turned around. Danny walked Dash's body back to the booth he was originally sitting at.

"Alright, what happened?" Danny asked, still in Dash's body as he sat back down.

"Wouldn't stop asking about me and you," she replied with a grin, "I made a sarcastic comment about asking you about it, and I guess he did. I didn't notice you were with here with Sam."

Danny sighed and smiled, trying not to laugh, "Yeah, Sam seems all sorts of pissed right now."

Annie laughed, "Dash is very dull-witted. He doesn't know when to quit."

Danny found himself laughing back, then turned serious, "He's high and drunk, so be careful."

Annie saluted him, "Thanks for the warning. Seriously, if you didn't tell me, I would not have even noticed. He doesn't look the least bit drunk, nor high."

Danny jumped out of Dash and saluted her back, "He's good at hiding it. Later ghost-girl."

"See you, phantom-boy."

Danny walked back to his own booth, his spirits high. But Sam had her arms crossed, a look of anger written all over her face.

"What?" Danny asked.

"I said take him back, not small talk with Annie!" Sam fumed, "You never listen to me!"

"Sam, do-"

Sam kicked Danny from under the table, and the conversation ended. Danny put his head down in defeat, deliberately trying to only look at his food. Once again, the feeling of a broken heart entered his soul. Danny felt as if something was slowly smashing his insides with a giant hammer. He wanted that horrible throbbing just to go!

Minutes later, a bright light flashed. Danny looked up. Anonymous stood at the entrance to the dining room by herself, a smile of satisfaction on her face before vanishing.

Danny took another bite out of his food. If only he could disappear from this disaster of a date.

.

 **I realized I never explained Danny's whole "he's a famous super-star now". Here is the answer to satisfy that curiosity, although unrealistic.**

 **Yeah, sorry, but this story is focused more on friendship and shit than on the fact that Danny basically told the world 'hey, I'm half-ghost!'**

 **Anyways, looks like cutting Annie off left Danny with a bad taste in his mouth. Whoops.**

 **And poor Danny. Sam's abusing him! Hey, domestic abuse goes both ways, yo! STOP IT SAM!**

 **Remember that poem I mentioned a few chapters ago? Well, here's how it spells out now:**

 **I**

 **I Have Been Found**

 **In Temptations Arms**

 **The Danger Is Past**

 **II**

 **Listen To Me**

 **You Shudder To Look**

 **Thinking Me Dead**

 **III**

 **The Many Stars in the Sky**

 **Glows With The Light**

 **With A Lullaby Sound**

 **IV**

 **Would I Lie To You?**

 **Yes**

 **And No**

 **The Problem Is**

 **That Horrible Throbbing**

 **.**

 **As you can see, I broke it up into stanzas to represent where we are in the story! Here is a brief explanation if you (for some reason) skipped to this chapter:**

 **I -Our introduction to Annie, and her relationship to Danny**

 **II-Sam meets Annie, we get a peek at ghasts, and a little bit of backstory for Annie.**

 **III-Anonymous enters the scene, and we get a look into how ghosts re-live their deaths, and how it's Anonymous' job as a Halfling to help them move on.**

 **IV-We get some downtime for our characters. We get to see them interact on a normal day-to-day basis. Sam no likey. Danny is forced to cut his ties with Annie, and the repercussions that has on him.**

 **What do you think about both our beautiful chapter title poem and the story so far? What would you like to read next about this little adventure? AND WHAT THE HELL IS A HALFLING?! Leave them in a review for me, I love reading them! Thank you very much and have a good Monday!**


	16. 15-While So Quietly Lying

.

School was still tough, though now the teachers were much more forgiving towards Danny. One such teacher, Mr. Clair, the science teacher, (and Danny's last teacher for the day)was probably the kindest.

And perhaps the worst.

"Time to assign your new RAP's" he announced one day, "These will be your RAP's until the end of the semester, no matter how much you may hate each other."

Many of the kids cheered as Mr. Clair got out the 'choosing jar'. Inside the jar were many small pieces of paper with everyone's name on them. Mr. Clair instructed everyone to pick up their things and line up against the wall.

"What's a RAP?" Annie asked one of the jocks.

"Randomly Assigned Partner," he replied, "Man, I hope I get paired with Fenton!"

"Hey, I'm getting partnered with him!" Paulina cried.

"As if," Sam snorted, "He's mine!"

"No, I'll be his partner!" Dash yelled.

The class erupted to who would be Danny's partner. Strangely enough, he wasn't there to protest. He was out fighting the Lunch Lady.

"QUIET!" Mr. Clair bellowed, "This is why they're random. I _HATE_ it when students begin to fight over each other." He stuck his hand in the jar, and the assigning began.

Minutes passed as everyone's names got called out. Some protested, but Mr. Clair held firm. Get along, or get an F.

And then there were four. Dash, Sam, Annie, and Danny, who was still missing.

"Dash Baxter," Mr. Clair called as he pulled out the name, "You have been paired with Samantha Manson."

Sam hissed in disgust as Dash groaned.

And Danny flew in.

"What did I miss?" He asked as he became a human.

"Daniel Fenton, your new RAP is Annabel Gust," Mr. Clair informed him.

"He can't be her partner! I won't let him!" Sam demanded.

Mr. Clair glared at her, "Samantha, I don't care what you want. It is what it is. Unless he wants an F, of course," Mr. Clair turned to Danny, "Now do you?"

"No sir," Danny answered, grabbing his stuff. He sat by Annie, who had chosen a seat in the back of the class.

"Glad we got that settled," Mr. Clair nodded with satisfaction as the bell rang, "Now, as tradition, remember to make a random, school-appropriate rap with your new partners! It's due next Thursday!"

"Daniel Fenton, Annabel Gust, please stay behind," Mr. Clair said as everyone rushed out.

"Yes sir," both said, approaching his desk.

Mr. Clair sat back in his chair and glared at Sam until she stomped out. After the door closed, he said, "Now I must admit, you two are not truly random. I purposefully didn't put your names in the jar because of your…situations." He pausing, nodding to himself, "Because of your…outside school lives, to say the least. Whether saving the world," he inclined his head at Danny, "or your own soul," he did the same with Annie, "all of your assignments shall be due one week later from everyone else. Tell anybody about this treatment, and the deal is terminated, you understand?"

"Yes sir," they repeated.

"Good. Glad you understand this is for your own good. Now have a good day," he dismissed them.

Annie, being quicker-paced than Danny, walked swiftly out of the room. As she passed Sam, the girl was grabbed by the arm. Annie quickly spun around, wriggling out of Sam's grasp. Annie simply stared at Sam.

"I don't care if you're partners, you stay away from him, you hear?" Sam growled.

Annie blinked at her, her expression blank. Then she turned around and walked away. Sam clenched her fists, but forced herself to relax as Danny came out.

"What did Mr. Clair say to you?" She asked sweetly.

"Oh, nothing much," Danny replied.

"Stay away from her," Sam reminded him, "I don't want her ruining us."

Danny sighed to himself, "Don't worry Sam." Speed walking, Danny used his ghost powers to disappear into the sea of students.

.

Danny quickly walked to his locker. These days he didn't bother undoing the lock, but simply made it intangible. Inside, there was a note, just like he expected.

 _I'll be at the public library all day tomorrow. If you want to do the rap then, I'll be in the non-fiction section looking up stuff the old-fashioned way._

 _~Annie_

He looked around. There was no one.

His phone buzzed. It was a text from Sam.

.

 **Sam:** You disappeared so quickly! Anyways, you want to come over tomorrow? We can finally have a whole day to ourselves ;)

.

Danny paused, then glanced at Annie's note. He crushed it in his hands.

What Sam didn't know wouldn't kill her.

.

 _Dad wants to teach me to drive tomorrow. I won't be able to. Sorry, you know how he gets._

Danny hit send.

.

Watching him silently in the halls, a slow grin stretched across Skulker's face, as a plan began to form. But he needed to know more if he wanted this hunt to be truly exciting.

.

 **Looks like someone's getting tired of Sam's shit. And looks like Sam will even threaten Annie to keep her away from Danny, even though Annie is not intimidated like she ought to be. But that won't be the end of it, I plan to add some more spice to the mix!**

 **I actually made up RAP, but it really is a cool concept, I wish one of my teachers would come up with something as clever.**

 **This is a rather short chapter, isn't it? Compared to the last few chapters, this one is about 250 words below average. Go figure.**

 **Reviews, I** ** _DO_** **read 'em! One of my favorite things to do, so don't forget to leave 'em! I'll send ya'll the next chapter soon!**

 **(I don't own Danny Phantom, just this fanfic.)**


	17. 16-She Prayed to the Angels

The next day, Danny arrived at the library and began looking for his partner. It wasn't easy, as the libaray was a large one, and he couldn't exactly shout for her. It _was,_ after all, a library.

Suddenly, his ghost sense went off. Danny looked around. He didn't see anything, so he went on.

He found her between the philosophy and paranormal sections. She was sitting on the floor, book between her knees, another by her side and the shelves pressing into her back. There was a small smile on her face.

"Annabel?"Danny called to her.

She looked up, a wisp of blonde hair falling onto her face.

"I didn't think you'd come."

"I didn't know you'd be here." He walked up to her.

 _What We Are_ , was the title of the book next to her. When Annie closed the book, Danny could not read the title, as she had covered it with a book covering.

Danny sat down next to her, "What were you reading about?"

"Philosophy and ghosts. I'm curious how you got your powers."

Danny blushed. A lot of people were. And he kept his mouth shut about it, only saying that all he could remember was burning, hot pain. To ensure that no one would wish out loud for it or find out how he got his powers, Danny went to Desiree and wished that no one would ever find out, or become a hafa like he and Vlad did, even on accident. He wanted his bases covered.

"I don't remember much," he said in the same fashion as always.

"Liar," Annie retorted, and Danny wished she couldn't see right through him, "But I won't force you, or pry."

"Thanks."

"How have you and Sam been?"

A normal question. But a complicated answer. Danny wanted to tell her, but he didn't know how, or if it was even true. Sam loved him, and he loved her, that was all to it, right?

"Fine," he lied.

Her face was doubtful, but then she asked, "Tucker says you banged, is that true?"

Danny's face became red, "Uh, no."

"She has no idea what she's missing then. I know for sure that you've given me plenty of amazingness," Annie wiggled her hips in a goofy fashion.

Danny burst out laughing, "I miss those good times sometimes, you were just as good."

Her face puckered in surprise as redness climbed up Annie's neck...

Danny stopped short. Did he really just say that out loud?

And once again did that ghost sense go off. A rush of relief passed through him as a certain Box Ghost began to scream in his ear:

"I AM-"

"Shush! We're in a library," Annie interrupted.

"Oh, sorry," the Box Ghost replied, "Now where was I?"

"You were declaring who you were."

"Oh yeah. I AM THE BOX GHOST! BEWARE!" the Box Ghost stage-whispered. He held up a box of doom, grinning, "BEWARE MY LATEST WEAPON, THE BOX CAT!"  
Out of the box, he picked up a live, gray, little kitten.

"Meow," said the kitten.

"How cute!" Annie squealed, jumping up and taking the kitten.

"BEWARE! THOUGH HE HAS HAD HIS SHOTS AND HAS BEEN FIXED, HE STILL HAS CLAWS!" the Box Ghost stage-whispered, "BEWARE HIS UTTER ADORABLENESS!"

Annie proceeded to rub the kitten against her face, cooing and giggling.

"Meow?" said the kitten.

Danny chuckled, took out the Fenton Thermos, and sucked in the Box Ghost. His box dropped onto the floor, revealing a litter box, kitty litter and a big bag of cat food. _The Box Ghost was prepared for this cat,_ Danny thought.

"GET HIM BOX CAT!" the Box Ghost bellowed from within the thermos.

"Meow," said the kitten. He batted a paw on Annie's face.

"Kittens are my weakness!" she said to Danny, "Mom was planning to take me to the shelter on Sunday, but I guess this box cat will be going home with me instead!"

Danny pet the little kitten, "He is kind of cute."

Annie's face brightened, "Hey, I suddenly have an idea for our rap!"

"Shoot."

" _Hey, hey, hey_

 _Here's the Box Cat_

 _Look at him meow_

 _He has gray fur and a fuzzy booty_

 _He's my Box Cat_

 _Meow!_

 _Cuter and better than you'll ever be!"_

Danny laughed, then joined in,

" _Yeah, he's a box cat,_

 _One day in the library_

 _A box ghost came and said to me_

 _BEWARE_

 _For I found a box cat_

 _And he's cute and furry_

 _Beware the box cat!"_

Annie made some beat-boxing noises, and they both high-fived.

"Meow," said the kitten.

"Best. Rap. Ever," Annie said.

"We should write it down before we forget it," Danny replied, picking up the box and putting it on his lap.

Annie put the kitten in the box and sat back down next to him.

"What will you name him?"

Annie thought for a moment, "Box Cat."

"Very creative."

"Meow," the kitten agreed.

If anything, nothing else happened. They researched for good rhymes for "box cat" and "box kitten". The Box Ghost even made some suggestions from within the bowels of the Fenton Thermos. No one questioned why they had a kitten in the library either. the twosome just _were_.

And Danny was happier than he had been in weeks.

He was sad when, a little over an hour later, she left with her books and the kitten, now and forever known as the Box Cat.

As Danny left the library after, however, he ran straight into Sam.

 _Well dang it!_ he thought to himself, smiling nervously.

Sam crossed her arms, "So I thought you were with your Dad."

"Uh, yeah, I just needed some books."

"What books? You don't have any books!"

"I forgot my library card."

Sam smiled, "Oh, you can borrow mine then!"

Danny found himself going back into the library with Sam and found himself checking out a couple of books on driving. He figured he'd return then as soon as Sam left him. She wanted to walk back home with him.

It was almost like the old times. Almost. He and Sam talked and blushed, and (the now-new thing he deeply enjoyed) kissed.

"Bye Danny," Sam waved at him. Danny smiled.

Oh.

The time was almost nine.

"Danny," his mother scolded, "you missed dinner again."

As if in response, his stomach roared.

" _Tut tut tut_ , well, at least I know why you're late these days. I kept your father from eating everything, even (by some miracle) your dessert."

"IT'S VANILLA MADDIE, YOU KNOW I DON'T LIKE VANILLA," his father screamed from the top of the stairs.

His mother laughed, "It's in the microwave if you want it."

"Thanks, mom," Danny said, putting down his books.

She picked one up, " _Driving Laws_? Danny, I thought your father already taught you how to drive!"

"I DID, AND HE FAILED!" His father called from the top of the stairs.

His mom hugged him, "Oh, I love you, Danny."

Danny blushed, "I love you too Mom."

She messed up his hair and left.

Danny ate his food quick and scurried to his room. Tossing the books carelessly onto his desk, he flopped down on his bed. He needed to think.

He was confused, obviously. Between Sam and Annie and the lack of real enemies, Danny didn't know what to do. His mind was muddled, and his heart torn. He couldn't believe that he actually said that to Annie. He couldn't believe he went behind Sam's back like that. Nothing happened at all, but the fact he went behind her back concerned him. Was Sam right? Was Annie tearing them apart? Annie never made a move on him, except for the occasional flirt, but Sam was his real deal. Why didn't Sam understand that?

He got up and looked out his window. He could see Annie's room from there.

Inside, she was praying. To who Danny may never know, but he hoped to some sort of higher being that whatever angels there were that they could come down and help him solve this mess.

.

 **Every cat is a box cat. If you've never had a cat, lemme tell ya, they LOVE boxes(for some reason)**

 **What? A little nonsensical humor never killed anybody. I wanted to lighten up the mood a bit before the next chapter. *wink wink***

 **Sorry, I meant to upload this on Friday, but my internet was done. So next chapter comes early! :D  
**


	18. 17- To Keep Me From Harm

A simple camera, put at the right angle, can harm even the best of reputations.

Some journalist who wanted to start a scandal, maybe? Someone who wanted to stop their relationship? Or maybe it was just an innocent celebrity report, like the news occasionally does. Whatever the case, it was on the news Sunday night. A compilation of Danny and Annie ran through the news, one about their friendship and what would happen now that one was a hero and the other was the survivor of a horrible tragedy. Basically, it was a documentary of them both. How in the world the news got these pictures, these photographs, the home videos, no one would know.

But now everyone knew.

There was a particular picture that was the worst of them all. The two of them, they were kissing. The photo was taken two years ago, but it had been edited to say earlier this year.

And Sam was mad. No, mad wasn't enough to describe it. Angry wasn't either. She was _furious_. The feeling of hatred coursed through her veins, fueled her motivation. There was only one thing to do: get rid of the problem at the roots. No more threats. It was time for action.

She marched into the school, anger all over her face. People steered clear, and followed, curious. By the time Sam go to Annie's locker, a small crowd had begun to follow.

"Annie," Sam growled, "I told you to stay away from Danny!"

Annie glanced at Sam but went back to her business of grabbing stuff from her locker and putting it in her bag.

Sam slammed the door locker shut, "Listen to me!"

Annie simply stared at her, "I am, but I have nothing to say."

Sam swung her fist, and Annie ducked her head.

The crowd _Ood_ , and began to circle them in, chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Sam put her fists up and began to punch the air. Annie was dancing out of her reach, which angered Sam further.

"Sam! We can talk about this! I don't want to fight you!" Annie cried.

"You're trying to steal Danny from me!" Sam shrieked, throwing another punch to the air, "We have nothing to talk about!"

Annie just kept dodging, but the crowd was getting, tighter, tighter, screaming for blood. Sam's anger rose.

"Sam, I don't want to fight! I don't want to harm you, it's for my own sanity!" Annie repeated.

Sam didn't listen, and the crowd got tighter, tighter. And eventually, it got tight enough for Sam to nail Annie in the nose.

The girl flew back, clutching her nose and hitting the wall, slumping. Sam approached her to finish the beating she deserved. Just as she was about to begin the real beat down, Annie suddenly stood up straight, her eyes becoming distant and glossed over, her nose streaming a constant river of blood. Sam tried to hide her surprise and swung and hit the girl's jaw. Annie's head snapped back once again, but then slowly turned her head and stared with dead eyes.

And Annie punched back.

 _Finally!_ Sam thought to herself, as the real fight began.

Annie's dead eyes met Sam's as she swung. Sam ducked under it and issued a punch to the gut.

Annie let out a gasp of air but seemed unfazed.

Sam noticed her eyes again. Dead, as if nothing was in there. What was going on?

Annie swung again and made contact. Sam felt as if her teeth might fly out of her jaw.

Then again in her stomach.

Then her eyes.

Her nose.

Annie was ruthless, and would not let up. She kept punching, punching, her eyes dead, her expression completely blank. Blood, Sam's blood, dripped onto the ground, flowing.

Sam fell to the ground, but Annie kept hitting her and then began to kick her. The crowd began pulling the girl away from Sam, but somehow, she kept escaping their grasp.

"Annie stop!" Danny's voice called from the midst, but it was all too hazy.

Annie came at her again, her fist in the air.

Sam saw a blur-

And

Then

There

Was

Nothing

.

 **Well then...**

 **Leave a review, I won't post until then because I really want to see your guys' reactions to _this_. **

**And what the hell is going on in her head? How will Danny deal with this. UNTIL NEXT TIME, MY LOVELY READERS!**


	19. 18-You Would Not Understand

One of the students had run up to Danny on Monday, and he was out of breath. Danny assumed a ghost had probably come until the boy said,

"Your girlfriend is trying to fight Annie back in D Hall. You should get their quick before it gets ugly."

Danny thanked the boy and ran through the walls. Why would Sam try to fight Annie? He thought back, and remembered Tucker's text from the day before:

.

 **Tucker:** TURN ON THE NEWS, YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!

.

Danny had ignored it but now wondered if that had anything to do with it. Finally, he had gone through the crowd where the fight was.

Annie's eyes were void of emotion. Her nose was bleeding and her jaw was beginning to bruise, and she was pounding Sam into the ground. The football team kept trying to pull her away, but Annie somehow escaped their grasp every time.

"Annie stop!" Danny cried out, but his words were lost.

He made a split-second decision. He jumped into Annie's body.

Whatever was going on in her mind, her body almost rejected him.

"Get a teacher!" he called out through Annie's mouth, "I can barely control her!"

From the inside, Danny forced Annie's body to drop to its knees. It took almost all his will to force this, but Annie's subconscious finally gave in.

With that done, Danny wondered if Annie was going through PTSD. So he turned his mind inwards, in an effort to help an old friend.

.

Hell.

Danny found himself in the center of a ring. There was a crowd, cheering and hollering. His hands were bloody and bandaged, and he was shaking terribly as he was beating another into the ground.

This was the memory, he realized. He was re-living it with her, instead of watching from the outside. Memories and dreams were not the same, he realized too late as he struggled to get out, to get Annie to snap out of it.

A horn buzzed.

He felt himself straightening out and walking away, towards a wall that slowly opened. He limped down a long, winding corridor. Eventually, he met a masked man.

The man nodded at them, before placing a blindfold over their eyes. Danny felt himself being picked up and carried away.

After an unknown amount of time, he was sat down, blindfold still on. Something was put in front of their mouth, and they ate it up greedily. Danny tried identifying the food, but then they were picked up again. He once again struggled against the memory but to no avail. He was being taken somewhere.

Finally, they were set down and the blindfold was taken off.

They were in a cell, surrounded by others, bone-thin and savage looking.

"Ann, you'll be alright," one of them said.

"I killed him," they rasped together, as Danny struggled again. He didn't want to know this.

Another walked towards them, "Ann, you've been possessed. This isn't real."

Suddenly, Danny was forced out of the memory. He faced Annie when he first met her again, dirty, thin and wild. She stared at him in open shock.

"Annie, I'm just trying-"

And she screamed.

And screamed.

Danny was surrounded by glowing red eyes, and they began to chant,

 _It's your fault_

 _It's your fault_

 _It's all your fault!_

Danny was thrown out of Annie's body and into the real world.

His was body slammed onto the desk. Annie was on the other side, now desperately trying to claw her way throw the wall as several of the football players tried to hold her down. Danny looked around. He was in Principal Ishiyama's office.

"Well, I guess you couldn't get her to snap out of it," the principle sighed, looking at Annie, "We'll have to wait for her mother to get here with the rest of the paramedics."

"What happened?" Danny asked.

"Sorry Danny, I can't tell you. This is a matter between me, the school and those two girls," the principle told him, "Ah, here's Mrs. Gust now."

Mrs. Gust stormed into the office, her face stricken with worry and fear. She looked towards her daughter, who was still kicking and screaming at the football players. Mrs. Gust approached her and took out a needle. She then stabbed Annie's arm, and the girl almost immediately stopped her struggle.

"Boys, you'll have to leave now, but thank you for your help," Principal Ishiyama said.

Mrs. Gust gently picked up her daughter and noticed Danny. She glared at him, and Danny quickly left.

The football players began to talk amongst themselves, but Danny ignored them. He went straight to the nurse's office, the most likely place Sam would be.

The paramedics were there, and Danny saw Sam. Her face was a bloody mess. Sam looked at him through her black eyes.

"H-hey Danny," she stuttered.

Danny took a step back as guilt began to weigh his heart.

"Danny?"

The adrenaline finally wore off, and tears stung his eyes. It was his fault this had happened, oh why didn't he listen to Sam?

She coughed. One of the paramedics shushed Sam before turning to Danny, saying, "You may want to leave sir. She's in a fragile condition."

"Fragile my ass," Sam croaked, trying to look for her boyfriend.

But Danny left, crying. He became invisible and decided today was the day he'd ditch school. He needed to think.

.

And throughout it all, Skulker watched happily. Soon, as soon as his prey's bait healed up a bit.

.

 **Believe it or not, this story is almost to an end! But how will it end? ONLY I KNOW MWHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

 **I must admit, though, I am cutting these last parts up into smaller chunks. Why? Guess I myself don't want to stop writing this, but I can't make it long, drawn out and repetitive, you know? Besides, I'm getting really hyper at what Skulker has planned!**

 **Please, leave a review, and I'll see you guys soon!**


	20. 19-My Tantalized Spirit

Danny flew through the sky, invisible. He felt immensely guilty for what had happened. Though he had no idea why they fought, it still felt like his responsibility. They were his girls, after all, even if he wasn't really allowed to be with Annie anymore.

He needed Anonymous, bad. But the sunset was hours away.

He decided to skip the rest of school altogether and just wait.

.

"Suspended!" Sam cried out to the principle an hour later, outraged, "You can't suspend me!"

Sam's mother put a hand on her shoulder, but Sam jerked her shoulder away, "I didn't do anything!"

"You started a fight, I say that's enough reason to suspend you," the principle replied sternly.

"What about the other girl?" Sam's mother asked.

"I've already taken care of that," Principal Ishiyama gestured to the door, "you may leave now."

Sam limped out, and her mother apologized before following her.

"Samantha Manson, your behavior lately is unacceptable!" she scolded as they walked to the parking lot.

"Yeah, well that bitch shouldn't be seducing my boyfriend!" Sam retorted, trying to make herself look mean through her black eyes.

Sam's mother held out her hand. "Give it."

"What?!"

"Your cell phone; as of today you are no longer allowed to have contact with the outside world until the suspension is over."

"You can't do that!" Sam said pathetically, but her mother pried the phone from her pockets, making Sam yelp as she touched her bruises.

"I've already called your father, and the only thing in your room will be a blanket and a pillow," she stated matter-of-factly.

Sam got in the car and slammed the door behind her. This was all Annie's fault!

"And I also added a thermal camera, so if I 'see' your boyfriend trying to sneak in, there will be hell to pay!" she added as she started the car.

.

Annie's eyes were closed as her mother talked to Principal Ishiyama.

"It would be best for her to stay home," her mother agreed with her, looking at her daughter, "is she officially suspended though?"

"No, but it would keep the rumors down until Samantha can come back."

"Well, a week won't kill my daughter," Mrs. Gust said, "Huh Annie?"

Annie, still very exhausted and confused, replied, "whatever you say, mother."

Her mom ruffled her hair, "Come on, time to go home."

Annie dragged herself up, "Yes Mom."

.

Hours later, he bumped into the cloud, his ghost sense alerting him to the ghost.

"I had a feeling you'd show up today," Anonymous' smooth voice called to him.

"News travels fast," Danny replied, sitting on the cloud next to her.

Anonymous shrugged, "girls fight. Sam wanted m-Annie to stay away from ya."

"Her name's Annie," Danny corrected.

Anonymous sneezed, "Sorry, I felt that coming on. Yeah, I don't know what to tell you, phantom-boy. Sorry, I suppose, for the fight. And stop feeling guilty about it!"

"What do you have to apologize for?! You weren't even there!"

Anonymous gave Danny a curious look, "People apologize for the stupidest of reasons, like when someone dies. I suppose it's a way of sharing sympathy. Now stop feeling so damn guilty!"

"You read me like a book," Danny confessed, "it's hard not to. I disobeyed Sam. And she decided to take out Annie."

"It's Sam's fault, not your fault Danny!"

Danny winced, "Okay," he replied as tears stung his eyes.

Anonymous leaned over and gave him a hug, "Oh phantom-boy, what will we do with you?"

"Tell me what the heck a Halfling is, that's what," Danny said.

Anonymous broke the hug, "Well, that was sudden."

"It's been in the back of my mind for a while now."

Anonymous looked away, thinking, "Halflings are born; they're not the spirits of humans. I was born into this world, not someone who died and came back to finish the unfinished. I refused to go, and so mother gave birth to me, an unknown Halfling."

Danny instantly thought up of Box Lunch, shuddering, "But you said you were alive at some point."

"Living does not necessarily mean alive. To live is to do more than breathing oxygen, keeping the body alive. You have lived a life of a hero, and so you have done more than simply _exist_. I live a complicated life of secrets, so I have done more than exist. Does that make sense?"

"Yes," Danny lied.

Anonymous smirked at him, leaning onto his shoulder, "What will I ever do with you, phantom-boy?"

Danny shrugged, got up and flew away, but as he did that, he realized one thing:

Pointdexter was always there to stop fights from escalating like that. But where was he today?

.

 _One week later…_

Both girls were now allowed to come back to school. Rumors had flown about what happened to them but were now quickly silenced when Danny passed. Danny didn't care anymore. Being famous was not for him, and the world seemed to agree, as many had left him well alone. Once Danny met Sam at her locker, Danny could almost visibly see Sam's aggression coming in waves.

"I'll come with you whenever Annie and you have to work together," was the first thing Sam said to him after weeks of not being allowed to see Sam (hey, Danny respected her parents' rules. They raised Sam, after all.)

"Okay," Danny replied, perfectly fine with that, "We have to begin that science project after school, so if you want to meet us at my house-"

"Yeah, okay," Sam interrupted, "Sounds good."

Danny looked at Sam, a look of concern on his face, "Are you okay?"

Sam quickly kissed him, "Yeah, just still a little sore from the fight."

Danny didn't respond to that.

.

They were gathered around the kitchen table, homework papers everywhere.

"How good are you with math problems?" Annie asked Sam, looking down at her paper in confusion, "I'm rather terrible at math."

"Excellent, in fact," Sam bragged, "I have a 4.0, unlike you."

Annie didn't seem to notice Sam's snotty tone, "Cool, can you help me with problem 5? I can't figure out for the life of me."

Sam gnashed her teeth, and Danny put a hand on her shoulder, "It's only for science class," he whispered, "once the semester ends, we'll be done."

Sam took a deep breath and smiled at him, "Yeah, you're right." She walked to Annie and sat beside her, beginning to explain the problem.

"You get it?" Sam finally asked.

"No, but thanks anyways!" Annie answered, getting up, "Man, you got any oranges, Danny?"

"In the fridge."

Annie grabbed a knife and opened the fridge, "Oranges are amazing."

Suddenly, the lights flickered. Danny's ghost sense went off.

Laughter greeted Danny's ears as suddenly both Annie and Sam were scooped up into nets. Skulker quickly grabbed them and flew up high.

"I'm going ghost!" Danny shouted, jumping up in the air. But Skulker didn't stay to chat or to announce his evil plans. He took off with the girls, through the ceiling, leaving a piece of paper behind.

Danny tried to follow, but by the time he reached outside, Skulker and the girls were nowhere to be seen.

He let out a cry of frustration, flying back inside. On the floor, he picked up the note:

 _I'm going to hunt you_

 _as you hunt those you love_

 _A double hunt, HA!_

 _I'll give you a day as a head start_

 _But of course, you need a clue, don't you?_

 _Well, here it is,_

 _A pile of words  
Jackets of hordes  
Take a quick look  
In the place of the book_

Danny crumpled the piece of paper, annoyed and deeply worried at the same time.

.

 **Sorry about the weekly quota. School's been harsh, we have a TON of testing to do. Oh, but I finally finished this chapter!**

 **And so begins the dramatic end! I estimate maybe 3 or 4 more chapters left.**

 **Please, leave a review and tell me what you think! And how do YOU want this story to end?**


	21. 20-But No Matter!

Sam felt the net rock and tumble. She tried to see outside, but the net was too thickly woven to even get a good glimpse at where they were going.

Finally, after what seemed like several hours, the nets were dropped and fell open.

Sam jumped up, only to knock her head on the top of the cage, hard. For a moment her vision swam, and Sam forced herself to focus on Skulker.

"Let us out of here!" She screamed at him, rattling the bars.

Skulker laughed, "After all the trouble I just went through to capture you? No!"

"What do you plan to do with me?" Sam asked.

"Both of you," Skulker corrected, pointing at a separate cage to the left. Inside, there lay Annie, whimpering and staring at nothing, "You'll be my bait. I plan to finally finish the ghost boy once and for all!"

Furious, she shook the cage door again.

"Try all you want, but only ghosts can unlock that door," Skulker walked right up to Sam, getting into her face, "And neither of you are a ghost!" He glanced at Annie's cage, "Though I don't think I'll bother locking her cage, she seems helpless and as worthless as a newborn." He laughed evilly at that.

Sam spat on his face. Skulker made a disgusted noise, wiping off the spit.

"I'd get cozy if I were you," Skulker informed her, "You're going to be here for a while." And he flew off.

.

"Books, books, books," Danny muttered to himself, "Where do I find books?" He perked up and changed the direction where he was going, "The library!"  
It was closed today, but that wasn't a problem for Danny as he walked through the walls. His ghost sense went off.

"To get your next clue, you need to bring me a book I've spent too much time finding," a female ghost from behind said.

Danny turned to her. She wore a simple dress and had a braid that nearly touched her butt.

"Please, can you just give it to me? The lives of my friends depend on me finding that clue!"

The ghost shook her head, "It's in the book I need, and will only appear when I get it."

Danny almost groaned aloud, "What's the book called?"

"A friend of yours checked it out, one about those who protect the shores where spirits live."

Danny closed his eyes and had to take a deep breath, "Which of my friends checked it out?"

The ghost shrugged.

"Well, thanks anyways," Danny said and left.

Tucker's house was the closest. He'd search his-

wait a minute. Tucker would NEVER check out a book, he has his PDA. Danny mentally kicked himself and headed to Sam's.

He had barely flown through the window when an alarm went off. Immediately after, Danny was blasted out the window with a ray gun.

"What is this, my parents' house!?" he cried. He could tell Sam's parents weren't home to let him in the front door(their car was missing), and he had a feeling the process would be repeated if he entered uninvited again.

Danny found himself cursing and hoping Annie would have checked out a book on ghosts.

.

Minutes later, he found himself in her room. It was neat, clean, her CD's stacked neatly next to the radio while miniature statues decorated the shelves, almost mocking him.

Danny, not wanting to go through all of Annie's stuff, began scanning the shelves for any sign of a book.

"Where are you?" he muttered to himself.

He was so busy looking at the shelves that he bumped into her desk, knocking it over.

"Dang!" Danny cursed, hitting the floor.

 _Amity Park Public Library_ was the words that greeted him when one of her books landed on his head.

"Yes!" Danny cheered, examining the book. He noticed it had a book cover on it, so he ripped it off.

 _The Classification of Ghosts_. Danny remembered when he met Annie at the library that this was the book she had covered. For some reason, his curiosity flared up, but he shook his head. He'd have to ask Annie about it _after_ he saved her and Sam. He flew back to the library.

.

"Here," Danny handed over the book to the ghost the moment he flew in.

The ghost smiled at him, taking the book. She opened it up, where Annie's bookmark lay. Though it was upside down, Danny could make out the first part of it:

 _We were freed by the UNKNOWN ONE. Only UNKNOWNS could ever have that type of power, and they were far and few between. Praise our current UNKNOWN, for without her, we and all other HALFLINGS-_

"There you go," the ghost handed over a piece of paper to Danny, breaking his upside down reading.

"What is a Halfling?" He asked the ghost, taking the note.

"Something inhumanly born, made by all humans, the beings who protect the shores to the spirit world," the ghost answered, "We ghosts praise the Halflings, they have helped many souls, and resent the artificial ones." She then glared at Danny, disappearing.

 _Great_ , Danny thought, _more riddles_.

But that didn't matter now. He had another clue, and he was determined to find the girls.

.

 **2 new followers to this story! WELCOME! Because without you, I'd be waiting for someone to post a review to let ya'll in on the next chapter!**

 **Yes, I love feedback. Yes, I keep repeating myself. BUT NO MATTER, as the title, says, FOR I HAVE POSTED THIS CHAPTER!**

 **Anyways, thank you for reading (as always) and please leave a review if you want that next chapter (unless, of course, we get a new follower(but until that)) BECAUSE I'M BEING SUPER SERIOUS THIS TIME! I love your reviews, and I READ THEM ALLL!**

 **Ok. Enough of me ranting. Happy Easter!**


	22. 21-When the Light was Extinguished

As soon as Skulker left, Sam began to yell at Annie to snap out of it and get them out of here. Instead, the girl whimpered and curled into a ball.

She screamed and screamed until her throat became raw. Then she began to bang on the bars until her fists became sore.

In the distance, she heard Skulker laugh.

* * *

 _The fun has begun!_

 _You're times running short_

 _Before I begin;_

 _Where is the place you eat,_

 _Where you and your friends meet_

 _._

Skulker needed more clever riddles, Danny thought to himself as he flew to the Nasty Burger.

Again, the place was closed "for maintenance". Once again Danny found himself walking through the walls.

He looked around, expecting his sense to go off.

Behind the counters? Nothing.

Under the tables? Nope.

In the freezer? Wow, he must have screwed up. Danny looked at the clue again, puzzled.

"Where we meet and eat," he muttered. Then a light bulb went off in his head. Danny hit himself, realizing his stupidity, "The school cafeteria!" He exclaimed.

Quickly, he made his way there.

* * *

Where was she?

Annie remembered blacking out into a nightmare as she and Sam were carried off, but not much else. How much time had passed?

She took a look around. Trees, and… was that a clearing up ahead? Annie peered through the bars, then shook her head. She'd need to take a closer look.

She went back to the cage, pressing her hands on the walls, searching for a door.

 _CREEEEAAAAK_

Annie flinched, stepping out. She looked around.

"Finally," Sam sighed to her left.

Annie spun around as Sam stretched from inside her own cage and stood up.

"How long has it been?" she asked, walking to the cage.

"Almost two whole hours," Sam replied.

Two hours? Had she been out for that long? Annie shrugged it off, thinking about how messed up her mind was. Not all those light bulbs were screwed in right anymore.

She began examining Sam's cage, and located the lock. Out from her hair she took out a bobby pin and began to pick it.

"Don't bother," Sam told her, "I already tried. Only ghosts can unlock it."

Annie put her arms down, obeying. Without a word she began to look for a rock.

"What are you doing?" Sam questioned her, irked that Annie wasn't telling her what she was doing.

There. Perfect. Annie picked up the rock, looking around.

"Close your eyes," she warned.

"Wh-"

Annie bashed the rock on the lock. It cracked like a whip, echoing all around.

Then she dropped it and ran back inside her prison, dropping to the floor, playing idiot.

Like lightning, Skulker was there in an instant. He only gave Annie a passing glance before turning his gaze onto Sam. He glanced down at the rock, and laughed.

"Fool! Rocks won't save you!" he cackled, then tossed the rock into the woods. He left.

Annie looked at Sam. She looked around.

 _CREEEEAAAAK_

She walked over and picked up the rock again.

"Close your eyes," Annie repeated.

Sam obeyed as the girl smashed the lock again.

 _SNAP!_

 _CREEEEAAAAK_

"Run."

* * *

The Lunch Lady was humming to herself the moment Danny landed inside.

"Why hello dearie, would you care for some pudding?" she asked him sweetly as pudding appeared.

Danny shook his head, "Um, did Skulker leave anything for me?"

The Lunch Lady chuckled, "Yes he did. He was so nice about it too." She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, "Here you go."

Danny thanked her and took the note from her.

.

 _There is something quite eerie_

 _About hunting in the night_

 _But if you'd want them to survive_

 _Into the woods you must go._

.

Danny sighed. For once, he was stumped.

"What is it dearie?"

Danny handed the lunch lady the note. Again, she chuckled to herself.

"He bragged so much to me about taking those girls to the old camp, yes he did."

"Which old camp?!" Danny questioned.

"On Lake Eerie, of course!" she wheezed, "Near the waterfall, I think he said. Now, would you like some pudding?"

But Danny was gone before she finished.

* * *

 **It's been a while, hasn't it? I graduated High School though, so I haven't had much time to write! I promise to make it up to ya'll!**

 **Oh, and welcome, newest follower!**

 **Please, leave a review, and I'll see you next time!**


	23. 22- I Kept Going On

Danny flew faster than he had ever before, heading straight to the forest. Nothing stood in his way, nothing mattered to him, he had to go, he had to save them. His sense went off as he neared the forest.

Danny spotted the girls running towards him as he flew over the waterfall, tackling Skulker to the ground.

The hunter grinned at him. "You know, I never expected your girls to break the locks," he said as he fazed through the floor and behind Danny, "We've been running for a good while now, and let me say, they gave me a good chase!"

Danny blasted Skulker with a beam of light, and missed. Skulker retaliated with missiles coming out of his hands. He barely missed Danny, making craters in the ground and giving the girls no escape route.

Shoot.

Miss.

Dodge.

Repeat.

That's how the fight went as the girls watched, wondering how they could ever help. , Danny threw ghostly green disks and Skulker, only to take out the trees behind him.

The ghost laughed and pulled out an over-sized bazooka, firing three quick rounds. Danny only managed to dodge two. He was hit in the chest with the third and bumped into _something,_ landing next to Sam at the edge of the cliff.

"You okay?" he asked her. "

Yeah, but-"

She never got to finish as her hero sprung up into action, charging at Skulker. They both hit each other with a blast of green light.

* * *

Sam turned her attention to Annie, grabbing the exhausted girl by the wrists. Annie clung on for dear life, digging in her nails.

"Thanks Sam," Annie kicked her feet, trying to find purchase on the smoothed out wall, "now let's get out of here!"

Sam began pulling the girl up, but then paused.

"Sam?" Annie asked.

Sam shook her head, then looked at Annie. She looked beyond her, to where the ground ended over 100 feet away and had jagged rocks pointing at the sky.

"Sam?" she asked again, more quietly.

No one could ever survive such a fall. And in such chaos as this, Danny could blame it on Skulker, and finally have the balls to kill the bastard once and for all.

"Sam?"

Sam found herself grinning wickedly. The sun, after all, was beginning to set. And the mist of the waterfall would make it even harder for a certain someone to see. No one would see. Not even Sam.

"Sam, please, you're scaring me," Annie begged, trying to climb up.

Sam gave her the most condescending look Annie had ever seen in her life.

"You two have been together for long enough," Sam whispered leaning down at Annie. Greedily she watched as the girl's terror grew.

"Sam, please," she cried. Sam let go.

And Annie fell soundlessly into the mist.

* * *

 **Well...**

 **WELL...**

 **Leave a review :D**


	24. 23- And Then I Fell

Is this how it ends?

Time slowed down. Gravity seemed to lose its hold. For a moment, she felt as if she was floating.

That is until Annie was jarred back into reality when her foot hit a rock two-thirds on the way down, sending the world spinning

And the reality of what was happening hit her like brick.

Annie was falling

down,

down,

down.

And Sam's face was shrinking,

smaller,

smaller,

smaller,

until it was gone.

Then came the shock. After everything, she never expected in her wildest dreams that Sam would actually let her go. Annie thought Danny could choose his girlfriends better. But he got the one that would rather throw her off a cliff.

There was so much she had wanted to do with her friends. She desperatly crawled to Hell and back just to reunite with him, and this? _This_ , of all things, kills her? Thrown off a cliff over some petty jealousy? Annie thought they made it clear to Sam they were just friends. Only friends.

But she's been wrong before. Only this time the price was her own life.

In the air, she turned. The rocks were rushing up to greet her. Annie closed her eyes as she felt them pierce through her body.

* * *

Sam gave a smile of satisfaction. Annie was gone for good! Danny would be hers forever! Now nothing stood between them and their relationship!

Sam turned back to the fight, and saw that Danny was losing. She could see him struggling. Skulker was clearly kicking ass, shooting him left and right with newer, better weapons. Even from this distance, it was clear Danny was getting tired and weak.

And then he got shot out of the sky. He landed next to Sam, changing back into a human with a groan.

"Danny!" Sam cried.

He looked at her, bloody and bruised, "Wh-where did Annie go?"

Sam looked over the cliff.

"Danny, she- when you- I- I-I'm sorry," Sam realized she could never tell him what she did. But still she felt no remorse. Only happiness.

Danny tried to stand up. He needed to see for himself. But he fell down immediately, too exhausted to continue. The sun shone behind Skulker, highlighting his silhouette. His eyes glowed green. Danny looked to the sky, watching as a cloud shimmered into existence.

"Anonymous, help!" he cried.

* * *

 _Halfling: A human who can access their soul in times of transition, like the sunset. They tend not remember when these occurrences happen, as the events during these periods become muddled in their brains. If they die in human form, they become true ghosts._

 _There are only so few left alive._

There was something _wrong_ when she woke up in the human world. There was something off about her. Anonymous felt as if something stabbed through her body, making her gasp in pain. After a moment, she relaxed as the pain faded.

She stopped to think what happened to her in those last moments before she became a Halfling? Anonymous made that weird sound she always did when she sneezed "Ma, choo!" She giggled at how stupid she sounded, forgetting all about it.

But then a small voice called up to her: "Anonymous, help!"

She obliged.

* * *

It was as if a shooting star fell from the sky and landed right in from of them. Anonymous was no longer the shy, dark ghost Danny had come to know. Her blue eyes looked as if they shed misty blue tears, her black hair becoming fire. Her once long dress became skintight, and a sword appeared in her hands. This was not Anonymous, ghost of secrets. This was a warrior ready to defend them.

"Skulker," her voice echoed throughout the mountains, "surrender."

"Not a chance!" He boomed, readying his gun, "Now move or di-"

She never gave him the chance to finish. Anonymous threw the sword, and it landed in his chest. With the loudest scream Danny had ever heard Skulker began to disintegrate. From his feet up, he turned into ash that got carried away into the breeze until there was nothing.

Anonymous turned back to them, her normal self again. "I don't normally do that," she explained, "but he had the intent to kill. Now are you two okay?"

Danny was shaking, and he felt Sam was too. "My friend, she f-fell..." he couldn't bare thinking about it, "Is she...?"

Anonymous looked over and flew down. After a minute, she flew back up. She couldn't look him in the eyes when she said it.

"I'm so sorry for your loss."

* * *

 **That definition of a Halfling was supposed to be like a Pokedex entry, if you must know.  
**

 **Yeah, she's dead. Yeah, she was a main character. I dunno if Annie was a Halfling or not (or do I? DUN NU NUN!). But yeah, double-confirm next chap.  
**

 **(UNLESS SHE DIDN'T REALLY DIE XD I love toying with ya'lls heartstrings, don't I?)**

 **And WTF was Anonymous' role? A side character. Well, she's just kinda there. You know, Danny's support. She'll play a bigger role later, promise. ;D  
**


	25. 24- Have I Lost My Mind?

It was a closed casket funeral. The body was much too mangled to even bear seeing.

Danny was heartbroken. To have his friend back, only to be snatched away by death! They barely even had time to get to know each other again.

But then again, how could they, with Sam always putting a stop to it? He should have never let her boss him around like that.

He didn't even know what kind of church he was in, Danny was so messed up. His face was wet with snot and tears, but he didn't care. What was there to say? How could one put to words her bravery, her strength, her everything?

Danny didn't bother to listen. He had sunk into a hole of depression. Why, why couldn't he stop Skulker sooner? It was all his fault!

Everyone has left now. Danny now stood alone in the empty church, him and the coffin, waiting to be taken away the moment he left.

His ghost sense went off, and giggles filled the air.

"Who's there?!" he cried out, "Show yourself!"

A crowd of ghosts Danny didn't recognize appeared. They looked at him with grins a little too wide and bodies a little too thin. The two parties stared at each other before a girl piped up.

"Heya! Nice to finally meet the Artificial One!" She flew up to him and shook his hand with enthusiasm.

Another patted him on the back. Soon the whole crowd of ghosts were talking, until the first girl cried out, "Alright, enough! Leave the poor kid alone, he's still grieving!"

"Who are you?" Danny asked.

"The lost and left behind," the first ghost said.

"What?!"

"Ann's old friends from the compound. Guess she never mentioned us, did she?"

Danny shook his head.

"Well, we did _die_ , so I guess I could understand," the ghost grinned at him. "Only a few of us are left, guess we all thought Ann would live a long, lovely life for getting out."

"She fell off a cliff and died." He informed her.

Everyone broke into laughter that bounced off the walls of the church. The ghost girl held up her hand and everyone stopped. She thought for a moment.

"That asshole of an Unknown never did tell you what happened during those years, did she?"

"Unknown?"

"Oh, you know, like Unknown. Can't remember shit between when and then, and whenever she ever became this or that. You know, like how you can remember, but you can will it anytime, unlike those of us still alive. Unknowns never, ever know, which made Ann an even bigger asshole."

Danny decided that this ghost was crazy. He didn't understand what she meant.

Seeing his face, she shrugged, "Well we have to go back to our duties. Just because we became true ghosts doesn't mean we abandon what was ours in the first place."

"O-kay," Danny shook his head, "You do that now."

She waved her hand, and everyone disappeared.

* * *

Days turned into weeks.

Weeks, into months.

His hole of depression became deeper and deeper. Danny woke up from nightmares, plagued by his guilt of not saving her. Nothing brought his comfort.

Well, almost.

Every sunset after the funeral, Danny would come weeping to the Ghost of Secrets.

 _This is worse than when she first disappeared!_ He would sob, _at least then there was a hope of her coming back! But now she's dead, dead and gone and it's all my fucking fault for not saving them sooner shit, shit, shitty fucking shit!_ Anonymous wouldn't ever say a thing. She would look at him sadly while he cried his heart out.

And every night he would go home and take the biggest possible dose of melioration and sleep it all away.

* * *

Of course, the cause of one's sadness must cause someone else's anger.

Sam became irritated. And one day at her house she decided that she couldn't take it anymore.

"Get over that bitch already." She snarled, breaking away from his kiss, "I can feel her in your thoughts every time you kiss me!

" Danny shook in anger, finally snapping, "I wasn't even thinking of her! And how _dare_ you call Annie a bitch! She was my best friend!"

"Tucker is your best friend! She is an ex you said you'd never see again!" she retorted.

"I haven't seen him since the funeral!" Danny shouted back, "He wants nothing to do with me anymore! Says that he doesn't want to hang out, but I know its because he liked her too!"

"Annie was never that great to begin with!" Sam's fists curled in anger, "She was too plain, too skinny, dumb and boring!"

Danny's eyes flashed green. "She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever have the pleasure of knowing!"

Sam gasped, "I knew it! You were cheating on me with her!" "I was fucking not!"

The glow in his eyes became brighter as Danny shook in rage, "It's because of your jealousy that I never got to hang out with her!"

"Jealous?! I'm not jealous, I'm _right!_ Even now, months after that stupid bitch died, she's still tearing us apart!"

" _No_ ," Danny couldn't stop himself from becoming Phantom, " _You're_ tearing us apart! I always try to please you, always try to make you happy, and this is the way I get treated?" Danny shook his head, "Sam, I need a break. I can't keep going on like this."

" _What?!_ _ **WHAT!?**_ " Sam screamed as Danny became to float away, "I did not throw that bitch over a cliff only for you to break up with me! You're supposed to be mine, and mine only!"

He stopped in midair. Danny's mouth dropped open. "You _what?!_ "

"I did what I thought was best for us," she replied, crossing her arms.

He gaped at her. After a moment, Danny shook his head and said, "We're done."

"No, we are _not_ done! We're done when I say we're done, no one breaks up with me, I break up with them!"

"I don't even know you anymore."

He heard Sam scream after him. Danny didn't care anymore.

* * *

There is nothing left for him. Danny stopped going to school the day of the breakup. He refused to see anyone. Should they try he would vanish and fly away. He was slowly becoming a true ghost within his home.

Always these thoughts raced in his mind:

Sam killed Annie.

She killed her in cold blood.

Sam killed his best friend.

Sam killed her in cold blood.

No, _Sam_ killed _him._

Killed him on the inside.

Should he finish the job?

What is there left?

Nothing.

Th ghosts had begun disappearing more rapidly than ever before, and so, Danny had no one to fight. Not even the stupid Box Ghost. He had no purpose anymore.

But then again, did he ever have a purpose?

* * *

There are razor blades in the bathroom.

It's dark, the lights are out.

No one's home, his parents left to visit, well, _someone._ Danny didn't care who it was, he didn't even bother to learn their name. Jazz was _somewhere_ , but he couldn't remember where. She's stopped trying with him Who the hell cared? No one bothered with him anymore.

All he could feel was sadness.

Danny picked one up. He studied it carefully, slowly running it up and down his arm. The sharp metal was cool against his skin.

 _A little more pressure_ , he told himself. He closed his eyes and put the metal on his skin again.

The oh-so familiar ghost sense went off.

A hot hand shot out from the darkness. Danny cried out in surprise.

" _Don't you fucking dare,"_ a familiar voice growled.

* * *

 **WHY DANNY?! SUICIDE IS NEVER THE ANSWER ;~;**

 **Sorry, work and all got me before I could write this. Leave a review, as always, and I'll see you next time!**


	26. 25-No, For My Heart Is Brighter

Her blue eyes cut through the darkness and pierced into his soul.

"Anonymous? What are you doing here!?" Danny asked.

"Stopping you from making a big mistake!" She growled at him, baring her teeth.  
"So what? What is left for me! Annie's dead! It's my fault, I should have seen what Sam was up to!"

"She wouldn't want you to kill yourself!"

"How do you know!?" Danny screamed at the ghost, crying. "No one knew her like I did! She was my best friend and now she's dead!"

Anonymous flinched. "I know her better than you think."

"You never even met her!"

Anonymous' face grew dark. She sighed and looked away.

Light blue rings surrounded her. They split into two, one going down her body, the other up. Anonymous' skin went from dark brown to a lighter shade, her hair going black to nearly white. Her glowing blue eyes became a grass green, and she suddenly lost weight.

And the ghost of Annie stood before him.

Danny's jaw hung open. He took a step back, not believing his eyes.

"I'd have told you while I was alive, but I didn't even know I was half ghost," she explained to him, "I'm an Unknown Halfling, the type of Halfling who's not even aware of their status. I only found out three days after I died when, as Anonymous, my memories rushed back to me. Before that, the last thing I remember is being thrown off that cliff."

"I-I can't even-"

"I was born like this," Annie continued to look away, "Lots of us were, but now lots of Halflings are dead. Someone was rounding us up and killing us off. That's why there were a bunch of ghosts appearing. There weren't any Halflings to keep them in check."

Danny grabbed her into a hug and sobbed, "Oh my gosh Annie I missed you so much."

She hugged him back just as fiercely,"I missed you too."

"I'm sorry I didn't stick up for our friendship. I shouldn't have let Sam push me around like that."

Annie chuckled, "Yeah, but you'll do anything to have sex with your current girlfriend."

Danny laughed and pulled away, "Why didn't you come and tell me earlier?"

"I have to go," she answered instead.

"Why can't you stay?"

"I'm dead Danny."

"Please," he begged, "If you go, I'll think that this was all a dream."

"Danny," she sighed, "I'm dead."

"Then I'll die too! I'll kill myself!"

"Don't you dare!" she cried, "Do not kill yourself! Let your heart heal! You are stronger than that Danny!"

Danny had tears streaming down his cheeks as he grabbed his blade, "You died Annie, and I want to die too!"

She hit his hands and grabbed his shoulders, "No! I won't let you!"

Danny slid to his knees. "I'm so sorry."

"Promise me never to attempt again. Promise to let yourself heal."

Danny looked up at her, "I promise."

She kissed his forehead and disappeared. Danny laid on the floor and bawled.

* * *

His parents found him on the floor like that. Not knowing what else to do, they took him to the nearest mental hospital and let the doctors do their magic.

More weeks passed.

They turned into months.

Danny was getting slowly better. He took medicine now, and it helped stabilize his depression. Therapy helped, more than he could ever imagine.

Danny drifted. He decided on getting a G.E.D instead, to avoid those at school.

* * *

Time is meaningless to those recovering.

Years fly by. He has a steady job, and memories of ghosts are fading. The world is forgetting. Those statues, they've disappeared along with the ghosts. That portal has stopped working, and his parents gave up trying to fix it long ago. The only reminder is his own powers, something he seldom uses anymore.

Nothing is the same. He's stronger though. Tougher. He can see things others can't. Like the ghost girl in the sky, only appearing during sunset. But they don't talk anymore. Now that he knows, the pain is too much. So he goes on as if he knew nothing.

* * *

One day, ten years later, he has a dream.

She's alive again. They're having fun, watching the stars, talking about their dreams.

"Is this real?" Danny asked her in a moment of self-realization.

"It's as real as you make it," she replied.

Danny frowned, "I miss you so much."

She smiled at him and hugged him.

Their parents brought out sleeping bags. Tonight is perfect for a sleepover with the stars. As they prepare for bed, she asked him this:

"But are you healed now?"

"I'm getting better. There's this other girl, but I don't want to ask her out."

"Why not?"

"I guess I still hurt."

She kissed him sweetly before laying onto her sleeping bag. He joins her, and she cuddles up to him.

"Do it. And when you die, you can join me with the stars."

Danny closed his heavy eyes, "You moved on already?"

"I'm about to. It's been years, and the Halfling population's regrowing again. Every ghost does."

Danny clung tighter to her, "Will you remember me? Is it scary?"

"No. But can you promise me to be strong?" she asked.

"I promise."

"Then we'll be okay."

Danny opened his eyes and whispered into the dark, "Okay."

 **THE END**

* * *

 **Yep, that's the end! How'd you like the story? I loved writing it! I must admit, this last part was hard to end!  
**

 **My next story will come SOON! I have a life outside of this, but I promise, story # 2 will come soon! (And it will be a DP story! Hurray! :D)**

 **Please leave me your thoughts! Anywhere I can improve? Likes, dislikes? As I said, I read them all!**

 **Thank you all for sticking to this till the end!**

 **And finally, here's the end of the chapter-title poem!**

 **I Have Been Found**

 **In Temptations Arms**

 **The Danger Is Past**

 **Listen To Me**

 **You Shudder To Look**

 **Thinking Me Dead**

 **The Many Stars in the Sky**

 **Glows With The Light**

 **With A Lullaby Sound**

 **Would I Lie To You?**

 **Yes**

 **And No**

 **The Problem Is**

 **that horrible throbbing**

 **While so quietly lying**

 **She Prayed To The Angels**

 **To Keep Me From Harm**

 **You Would Not Understand**

 **My Tantalized Spirit**

 **But No Matter!**

 **When the Light Was Extinguished**

 **I Kept Going On**

 **And Then I Fell**

 **Have I Lost My Mind?**

 **No, for My Heart Is Brighter  
**

 **Okay, so that last line wasn't exactly a inspired song quote, but I couldn't think of anything else that fit.**

 **Whoops. Well, never said I was good at ending poems ;D And As I said, this was unitentional (at first!)  
**

 **See you all in the next story!**


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